United against the Legion of Flames
by JIMMYJAMSTER728
Summary: The Burning Legion has run rampart across the cosmos for to long, now the horde and alliance fight to stop them, but as they travel from world to world they must gather allies to defeat the demon army, but how can they call upon the aid of people whose own worlds are being torn apart by their own petty squabbles, can they save them from themselves before the legion. Mass Crossover.
1. Prologue

**Hello and welcome to my latest project, U.A.L.F. now as many of you already know this story will be a crossover between Warcraft and a whole lot of other anime, movies, games, and other stuff.**

**It is going to be a massive project for me to accomplish, and to start it I need your help; I need you all to help me get this thing off the ground and moving! But I will explain that later for now, read.**

**Updated: 14/02/2013**

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**United Against the Legion of Flames**

**Prologue: We are a Broken People**

_Annals of War – The Horde-Alliance War_

_War, it is one of the most fundamental flaw of any sentient races existence, all have seen it burn through cities and countries, many felt its destructive touch upon themselves and their homes, and some have been a part of it. It is what people use as a medium for their goals. Some make war for the Glory they receive, for Riches they partake, for Revenge against their enemies, and for Power in all its form. Yet there exists but a few that do not seek gold for their service or ballads of their deeds, but the simply thrill of battle, the of clashing steel and the screams of the dying are just as beautiful to them as a symphony is to a spectator in an opera. The smell of blood is as delicious to them as the aroma of any wine, the feeling of taking one's life, empowering beyond ones comprehension, the feeling of controlling another man's fate, the feeling of godhood. It is in these times that when war is waged that the true character of a man is revealed. Be it noblemen or commoner, the true character of a man will be defined with how he treats his enemies and how much blood he can partake before his thirst is quenched and his taste for it whither, War forces one to cast aside chivalry and kindness, it is not a war of honour or glory, it is one of endless blood and misery._

_Countries are torn asunder; cities burned to ash, people – both innocent and guilty - are put to the sword, how is it all justified, how do you give reason to all the evil and horrible deeds you commit: for your people, for your country, for your lord, without showing any remorse or a hint of hesitation you commit these deeds but for what. This type of war will end in only one way: when the last mad man had been toppled from his throne and when the last enemy lay dead at the victor's feet, it is only then that peace can be brought. But it is a hollow peace and an even more unsavoury victory, and for the victor will decide in annals of history who was good and who the doer of wrong, for even the noblest of people can become savages in their own right, but where history forgets, the people who made it never will and they will be haunted by it for the remainder of their days._

_But peace cannot exist without the need for war to end and new one to begin, lest the next generation grow wiser and not follows the examples set by the previous generations; this has been known for so long and forgotten just as quickly as it was learnt, for there is no such thing as a bad peace or a just war. This has been known all too well by the denizens of Azeroth, for many decades the world has been the subject of conflicts and change, and just like at the end of each conflict they have been given a chance at peace, to rebuild their cities and mourn those that were lost, to hope that another does not befall them._

_But a single miniscule event can spark the fires of war, war that was unleashed because of old hatreds, the lust for power and misguided glory, it had begun with the changing of leadership within one of the strongest military nations in the world, the Horde, where it was once ruled by a just and wise Thrall, who brought forth a honorable and just society that were once only known for their savagery and evil. Which they became infamous for once again when it was taken hold over by a bloody-skinned orc named Garrosh Hellscream. The rise of Garrosh Hellscream as Warchief of the horde – becoming one of the most powerful leaders in the whole of Azeroth – was one of the most savage and bloody affairs seen since the Third war. Leading his people and its allies down a path that would lead to the shattering of what was the very foundation to which the horde was built and a return to the dark days where evil once ruled the hearts of all orc kind. For years his lust for power and blood had claimed the lives of many – both in the horde and alliance, as well as many others who tried to remain neutral in the conflict – innocent people had their towns burnt to the ground, neutral organisations were forced to take sides in the conflict, the world suffered because of one man's greed._

_Theramore became a scorched crater from the mana-bomb that tore it apart, its former ruler Jaina Proudmoore, who was known as an advocate for moderation and peace and understanding between the Horde and Alliance became one of the main supporters in the war against Hellscream. She had lea the once neutral organization of the Kirin Tor into the war against the Horde, leading the wizards of Dalaran again the mad Warchief, expelling the Sunreavers from their city with a great purge and claiming it in the name of the Alliance._

_The Panderan's of Pandaria were forced into war by the two warring faction, whose bloodlust forced a great divide between their people, some who ideals were similar to hordes – The Huojin Panderans believed in practical and decisive action. They believed that morals and ideals are not absolute, but change with circumstances. This is the fundamentals that led them to joined the horde, for they believe no matter the cost they must defend their home, they will do anything to protect their people no matter what they are forced to do, even going against their own race. The Tushui Pandaran believe in a principled life that is not values morals, and that no matter the cost to themselves or others they must protect their philosophy and way of life, it is because of this they have joined the Alliance._

_In his rule Garrosh became a threat not only to the Alliance and Pandaria, but also the Horde itself, his reckless abandonment of its once noble design and the forcing of its allies into war had torn apart the once proud nation into nothing more than an old cliché of the old wars, a group of savage animals following the worst of them all. Even his own people could see his folly, yet at the hands of his Kor'kron what could they do but obey, and those that didn't, they would never be heard from again, and great tales of evils that were committed from under Ogrimmar._

_But his end was brought upon by none other than the former Warchief, Go'el - who had thought him a warrior of honor and believed he would not make the same mistake his father did years before, that he would lead the horde into a new age, one that he would be proud of - and his allies, Vol'Jin, Sylvanas Windrunner and once former enemies and friend, King Varion Wyrnn, and Jaina Proudmoore. With their combined might and with a small army of noble adventurers they toppled the mad Warchief from his Dark Iron throne and ended the bloodshed that had lasted for three long years._

_His death ended the war once and for all – no more senseless bloodshed, no more dishonor, no more war – that is what they had hoped for, but in the end the damage that had been done by the son of Hellscream could never be forgotten or removed from the minds of all who remained. The lands had been torn asunder, much more than the Cataclysm had done and all races now had to watch as the scars of the most recent war lay fresh before their eyes, never to be forgotten for many generation to come. But it was those who lived in the present that would bear witness to the breaking apart of once great bonds, every race had been affected by this clash, some more so than others._

_The Alliance had suffered hard under the onslaught of the orcs, many settlements and villages had been razed and many innocent live had been slain. Each race had suffered under his cruelty._

_The Humans of Stormwind, led by King Varian, had lost all their settlements in Lordaeron, as well as many in the South – as well as all of their inhabitants –, and that does not count the many thousands that were claimed in the war, it was a dark time for the Alliance a time where even their tempered king was not willing to risk war. For in this time he learnt not from his anger, his time on the isles of Pandaria had given him the wisdom to lead his kingdom not as the warrior king, but as a just and fair nobleman, even with the crippling of his son, he persevered and ruled as any king should._

_The Dwarves and Gnomes of Dun Morogh had been one to suffer at the hands of the orcs in their own homeland; the Dragonmaw clan had attacked from the Highlands at the onset of the war, fighting for the glory of Hellscream and for the return of the old horde. The villages of the Wetlands and Loch Modan were destroyed and there were few who survived, and in the end only scant few settlements remain outside the main Dwarven city of Ironforge._

_The Night Elves, had lost something far more precious to them than jewels, gold or any fine gem could buy, they lost their spirit. Ashenvale and much of the forests of Mount Hyjal were devastated by the war, the horde was merciless when they tore down the ancient forests that they called their home, in the end only one tenth of the forests remain, but even so only a small fraction of it could be saved for the pollution and destruction caused by the goblins reckless machines and chemicals. The elves had since hidden themselves away within the shadow of the mountain, trying to repair the damage that had been done, but even so the scars will remain for many generations to come, both for the spirits of the elves and the shame for those that caused it._

_The Draneai have all but retreated back to their island, for fear of any more hostilities from the orcs, old hatreds don't die so easily, their race under the leadership of Valen have been for the most part been repairing the Exodor, as well as create more ships for themselves, should they ever be forced to leave this world – a world they considered their home – once more._

_The Worgen have suffered greatly, some say the most, where other races have lost land and people, their people have all but been decimated by the forsaken, their homeland of Gilneas has been overrun by the undead and now there is only a blighted wasteland remained in its wake. The Worgen escaped from the forsaken wherever they could, some went with the humans of Stormwind, others with the elves of Teldrassil, and since then there has been nothing but a great hatred between the two 'cursed' races._

_As much as the Alliance suffered from his brutality it was the Horde that was struck by its evil from within._

_The Orcs of Ogrimmar had returned back to their home of Duratar broken, the once proud and honour bound race have learnt the consequence to their actions, when they first began their war they thought they were doing it for their people, for their nation. But as they continued their senseless conquests and battles, they realised just how far they were falling, the destruction of Theramore, the War on Pandaria, the Martial Law against their own people and allies, they had seen the wrongs they had committed and just as they did when they were slaves to the demons. They were too late to take back and undo the damage that had been done by their own hands, they had lost what it meant to be orc, they had lost the spirit that their nation was founded upon, and they lost who they were as a people, again._

_For the acts committed by the former warchief, the trolls of the echo isles had all but recluse themselves, few ever leaving to journey the outside world, they had been through too much under one man's madness to want to risk returning to the mainland. They remained there for many years, not leaving their home, for the wounds that had been caused would not heal so quickly, they had long memories and they would remember what he inflicted upon them. It was only for those long memories that they remembered the horde that saved them from being destroyed; it was only because of this, that they stay within the horde._

_The Tauren of Mulgore have also remained in their lands since the conclusion of the war, very few have left the confines of their home country, with few leaving only to travel through the Barrens and Thousand Needles to deliver to their tribes and camps. But there have been many, mostly Shamans and Druids that have travelled across the world, doing their duty protecting nature and the world, as well as healing the damage done by the Cataclysm and the war, and hoping to undo the damage that been done not only to the world but the bonds that were once shared between the races._

_The Goblins of Azhara seem to be the only race that has not isolated themselves off from the rest of their allies; they regularly trade and provide service to both the Alliance and Horde, often acting as mediums between them to deliver messages and trade, if not for their actions it was likely the Horde would have disintegrated into nothing._

_The Blood Elves have begun the rebuilding of their kingdom, all details on what they are doing has been scarce at best, they have sealed off the entrance to their homeland, even to their allies, some sources claim they were disgusted by the actions of Garrosh Hellscream and because of that they have unofficially retracted themselves away from the Horde. Some forces within the Sin'dorei have even joined the ranks of the Argent Crusade and a new coven had been created within their ranks, the last remaining members of the Sunreavers, who suffered serious losses at the hands of the Kirin Tor during the purge of Dalaran and the war on Pandaria._

_The Forsaken, who during the war had begun a campaign of carnage across northern Lordaeron, have all but been pushed back into Tirisfal Glades, with only a few outposts in Silverpine and the Plaguelands. After the end of the war, the Dark Lady Sylvanas Windrunner was adamant on keeping control of the land she took, and moving further, she had consolidated her control over the Thordal Span in the Arathi Highlands and tried to Subvert Control of the Plaguelands from the Argent Crusade. This resulted in another civil war within the Plaguelands, resulting in the Argent Crusade alongside the Knights of the Ebon Blade - who by some accounts joined to rescue comrades who had been captured by the Forsaken and being coerced into supporting their cause - joining forces to push the Forsaken back towards the Undercity. In the end of the four month war the Forsaken were forced to surrender lest they be destroyed, all outpost save for the ones in Silverpine, and the Bulwark near the border of the Western Plaguelands were allowed to remain. But the Argent Crusade alongside the Knights of the Ebon Blade have kept a close eye on the Forsaken, the small conclave of undead have been under close watch of the defenders of the Plaugelands and the Alliance, and by some accounts the Earthen Ring and the Horde._

_Both Factions suffered heavily after the end of the war, many of them even left their factions and joined with other neutral groups such as the Argent Crusade, Earthen Ring, Cenarion Circle and Kirin Tor. While many others went into self-imposed exile, former warriors and commanders, finally tired of the constant bloodshed and destruction, many travelled to Pandaria, hoping the continent would provide them with at least some peace. But if history is anything to go by, it is that even if we do learn from our past we are still fated to repeat it, no matter how much we wish not to we will always been forced into war, which is the sad truth of things._

_Written and Published by:_

_Finnious Greatgear, Author of the Narrations of Azeroth Volume XXI_

_A continuation of the Histories of Azeroth_

Putting the book back on the shelf, Draga Wolfheart – Daughter of Sharvak, Shaman of the Earthen Ring and the apprentice of High Shaman Mairne Ragetotem – couldn't help but feel sorrow, she had been in this library many times since she had come to the Garmak, and every time she came here to look upon the history of Azeroth and her people, she couldn't help but feel ashamed and regretful for her peoples actions. They were a proud people once, looking back at the aged tome, written over a decade ago, she couldn't help but ask the question, what would have happened if they did not come, would we be at war with each other again or would there still be peace.

For ten years she had been away from her home, journeying from one place to another never staying more than a few months, meeting different cultures and races, but never really learning about her own, so focused on her studies and training and duty within the Earthen Ring she could not learn about her own people. She would be taught of the tenants of the Earthen Ring, its duty to protect the balance of the world be it the mortal or spiritual realms, but they did not teach her about her people or how Shamanism was a key part of who the orcs were. At first she did not known why she was not taught, she thought that is was some basic instinctual thing, spend enough time with her people and she would find out, but the truth was never that simple, they didn't tell her because they were ashamed themselves. Who wouldn't be, her people have been used more times by demons and bloodthirsty maniacs then she could remember, using her people as nothing more than fodder and tools to a mean to the end, and even when they broke free they were still bound to the demons, the chain was broken but to collar remained.

Finished with her reading she walked towards the library exit, her sandals tapping lightly against the floor, she passed by many shelves – filled with hundreds of dusty unread tomes that likely would leave this world as they came in: unread – eventually coming to the large circular doorway, she gazed momentarily to the two crystal formation that sat on either side of the spherical opening. Glowing a dull purple, which illuminated the runic script that lined the edge of the door frame, written in a language she did not know nor cared to know, she gave it little thought as she passed through. Passing from a dim lit library into the brightly lit hallway she quickly turned down the hall and continued on her way, her actions have become an almost instinctual habit; she would wake up in the morning, meditate, eat her breakfast, light morning train, have lunch, heavy afternoon training, learn elemental and enchantment magic from Mairne, and in her free time go to the Library…

She was drawn out of her daily routine listings by the sound of rapid footsteps, she looked up and saw two warriors rushing her way, both were young human warriors, she could see they had their swords tightly grasped in their hands. She looked at them a bit tentatively, what was going on? She thought, as they drew closer she could hear them cursing and waving their arms around frantically, they saw her and continued in their charge, she looked at them for a moment and when they were almost upon her she heard them cry out.

"Damn it, were late." said one of the human's, a deep frown on his face as he said it, they were likely late for their shift, grimacing the man leading the charged turned to his friend and shouted "Come on Dylan, if were late the sergeant will have us spar with Varro for sure."

"Not my fault, you dragged me to that bar!" shouted Dylan, she looked at the two as they passed by and recognized them as two soldiers from Captain Derrick company, they had the same symbol on shoulder-guards, two swords, one black and the other red sheathed behind a white dragon skull.

They took off down the hall, their hands tightly around the blade of their swords as they ran, she looked at them and smiled, even though it was likely they would get in trouble she did feel a bit better now than she did a few moments ago. As she turned around to continue on her way she was stopped when a large figure stood in front of her, she took a step back to look up at the man who towered over her by half a foot, she took in his appearance recognition dawned on her.

His amour was very dark plate, covering him from neck to toe in thick armor, the two main features of his armor where his pauldrons and the unique accessories that ran up the back of his arms, legs and spine. Jagged talon-like blades ran up the lengths of his arms and legs, the smallest at his feet and hand being only two centimetres in length, but as they ran up his limbs they increased in size, by the time you reached his lower back and shoulders they were almost ten time that length. But they did not stop there; they continued from his legs and ran up his lower back along his spine, they stopped just as his armor reached his neck separating either side of his body into two sections.

But his pauldrons were things of nightmares, each shoulder guard showed the image of a dragon's skull with four horns, two horns jutted out and connected to the back of the pauldron creating a small loop on the armor, while the other two jutted forward like two serrated daggers. The dragon appeared to have its maws wide open and inside were depictions of screaming souls slowly being devoured by the flames of the dragon's fiery breath, if she was not so well trained even she would have shuddered at the sight of this man. But if it was not the sight of his armor that drove fear into the hearts of his enemies it would be his weapons, two large swords were clamped to his back, both large enough that even the strongest of humans would require both hands to wield. Which meant this man was no natural warrior, he was one of the elite few that could become a Fury, a group that specialize in using two weapons rather than just one, and there are only a handful in that group that can master the skill of the Titan Grip.

He had two large swords latched on either side of his back; both were near polar opposites of one another, the blade that sat on the left side of his back was a silvery weapon, the wide blade was flawless and without blemish, nearly two meters on length the blade shined in the dimly lit passageway. Its gross guard consisted of two large triangular tipped chevrons, the closest to the blade folding under the one closest to the hilt; on either side of the blade resting atop the chevrons was a rams head with three horns. The two on either side of its head curled forward and looped around, while the one in the middle curled up and connected with the hilt and formed a ring around the wooden shaft, which was a foot long wooden handle with a triangular pummel. She knew the name of the blade very well, they called it the **Visage of War**, a very old and powerful weapon, and worthy of a great warrior, her eyes took her from this one to the other that sat next to it.

This blade as stated earlier was an exact opposite of the other; this sword was not one of silver, but one of blood and shadow, the wide blade was single edged, just as long as the first sword, but as it neared the unique cross guard the blade becomes more serrated and teeth-like. The cross guard that connects the hilt and the blade was of unusual design, the metal ran up along the back of the blunt edge of the blade, small metal spikes run along the back of the guard and ends just before touching the handle. The handle is solid polished wood shaft, its pummel and cross guard are connected with a thin metal hand guard, which had long blunt protrusions that could be used to smash in a person skull with ease, she gazed at the murderous weapon, it was meant to instil fear into any who gaze upon it, and it was working. **Grimmur, the Savage**. A blade meant to cut down your enemy's spirit with its very appearance before you cut them down with the blade itself; she knew both these weapons very well, and their owner.

"Derrick" she acknowledged his presence with a professional incline of her head, looking away from his armor and weapons to look at the young man before her, and when she did Draga found how much he did not suit the very weapons and armor he wore at the moment. He had a child-like smile on his face, which was still very youthful making him look more of a teenager rather than a twenty seven year old man, he was ten years older than her, yet he had the emotional maturity of someone who was – ironically – ten years younger than herself.

"Draga!" he yelled boisterously, he threw his arms around the young orcess and locked her in a death hug; he shook her around like a rag doll, which crumpled her dress and unravelled her braided hair. She growled as that happened, she prided her hair which went past her shoulders and formed a neat braid, it took her twenty minutes to clean it and then braid it, after finishing his greeting Derrick let her down. "It's so good to see you."

"Please don't go around screaming and grabbing me in your arms, people may get idea's" she said, her voice slightly strained as she tried to reign in her annoyance, while straightening her robes and re-braiding the ends of her hair that became unravelled when he enveloped her in one of his shameful hugs.

"I can't help it, I barely see you anymore." He whined, false tears flowing from his eyes, she groaned in exasperation, even though he acted like a child he was probably one of her only friends outside of the Earthen Ring, if she had known him when he was a child then they could probably been the best of friends. But he was much too old to be acting like such a buffoon, he spoke to her like a child and he acted like one, always saying that she should lighten up and act freely, which is something she didn't find very proper considering his position.

"You are a Captain in the Alliance's 7th Legion, you are one of the best warriors in the fleet, and you have a talent that only a handful of people have ever possessed, you wield two of the most awe and fear inspiring weapons out of anyone" she stated, before looking at him with an expression that showed she was both disappointed and bored "Yet you have the emotional stability of a six year old. And I haven't decided if it's a boy or girl yet"

"What?! Why are you so mean to me? I thought we were friends?!" he exclaimed as he looked away from Draga, his arm shielding his eyes in a dramatic pose to ward off fake tears, Draga looked on with easily seen irritation but didn't voice it or act upon it.

Taking a deep breath she calmed herself down, she didn't know how she was friends with this man, he was loud and quite annoying at times, he would always shout out to her when in passing which would make her want to strangle the man for causing such embarrassment, which led to others poking fun at her. He also would make fun of her in passing, saying she needed to loosen up and have fun, and on other occasions he had brought over a 'friend' of his, an orc warrior from the platoon that was stationed in the Garmak. At first she had no idea why he brought him here, she didn't know him and from how he acted with Derrick it was likely he didn't know the crazy human either, it was when he told her why he brought the orc to her that she realised why he was here, and reacted accordingly that was befit and orc and a shaman. Her reaction ended with both of them running for their lives as she sent bolts of lightning and fire towards them, all the while screaming 'I don't need a boyfriend!' she was scolded by her master for acting out over such trivial matters and using her power while inside the confined of the dining hall with people present.

But that was not the only reason for her not understanding why he was her friend, he was a human, he had been around during the time when the war with the Alliance and Horde was underway, though a boy at the time he would have seen much, but her she would have only been two when the war ended. She had heard that his father and grandfather fought in the First, Second, Third wars and Alliance/Horde War, with his father taking the last two respectively, the latter being the war he was killed in, by none other than an orc raiding party on . So how could he a human who lost his father to one of her kind not feel animosity towards her? She knew there were others in the fleet that still held onto old hatreds, and because of that most races kept to themselves and would rarely meet with one another off duty or during none combat missions. So why was he here with her when he should be with his own people, than with a person who comes from a race that has caused nothing but death and destruction for his people? Why didn't he hate her?

"You alright?"

Draga looked up at the Alliance Captain, she could see the concern that was present in his features as they were in his previous words, even though he acted like a fool most of the time he could be serious when the situation permitted, it was those time when she truly valued her friendship with him. A friendship Draga didn't think that she should be in.

"You've been in the library again haven't you?" he asked, his voice low and sincere, he had known her long enough to see that it was only one thing that could cause her to act like this, she would visit the library and read about the histories of Azeroth. Mainly the events of the First, Second, Third and Fourth war, piecing things together on what happened and what her people did, in a way he was not happy that she was looking in to a past that showed only one side of the story.

"Yes" she said simply, not looking at him, her eyes were downcast, almost as if she could meet his gaze lest he see the guilt that she bore because of what she believed were not just her peoples shame but also her own.

"You know what that does to you, you can't just read a book and think you know everything" said Derrick, his concern for her very evident.

"True, but I need to know about my people, I need to understand where I came from and what it means to be an orc"

"But you always come out of there worse than the day before, you shouldn't keep doing this to yourself" But to his surprise she snarled at him, before looking up and growled to him.

"So what, it is my right to know of my heritage, as do all my people, I deserve to know of our past. The good and the bad, I was born on Azeroth, I deserve to know about where I came from, I can't even remember it before I came here, I haven't set foot on my home for ten years, a decade away from the world I once grew up upon, it's been ten years since… since I was home" she said, her voice dripping with grief, for a few minutes there was silence between the two friends.

"I didn't mean it that way" said Derrick, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder "You deserve to know where you come from, but looking into the past is not the only answer, sometimes you need to look into the present as well, sometimes you need to ask those around you before you resort to asking questions to things that provide only one answer."

She looked up at him and saw a sad smile on his face, she understood his words and was surprised by their insight, maybe she had been going at this the wrong way, maybe she needed some guidance, maybe Mairne could help her. When she was accepted into the Earthen Ring she never mingled with their other members, she was focused on her studies and making sure she performed her duties as a shaman with honour, she had never spoken to any of them to great lengths about their past and experiences.

"Thank you" Draga said, looking up at the smiling face of Derrick, he was definitely a good friend, a friend she probably didn't deserve.

"It's what friends are for, I'm sorry but I have to go, keep your chin up young Shaman and don't let the past haunt you, look to the future to decide who you are" he replied, he kept the smile on his face as he walked past her and continued on his way, she had her own smile on her face, now she knew why she kept him as a friend, those rare moments where his wisdom would shine through and give her much needed insight, that is something she like about Derrick, even though he acted like a child, he was more of an old scholar at heart, before she could continue on her way however he called out to her. As soon as she heard that child-like voice of his she knew he was going to ruin this moment and piss her off in a very profound manner. "Oh by the way, maybe you should think about getting a boyfriend, I mean you're not that bad looking, hey what about that boy you keep dreaming about, if I had known you were into humans I would have brought one instead of Vernik."

He flashed the young Shaman his usual childish grin, which she sadly didn't see as he was quaking with anger, before he ran down the hall avoiding fireballs and lightning being sent at him by a furious shaman, he laughed heartily as he dodged the lethal volley of spells before ducking around the corner. She was panting lightly after exerting all that effort to put down that obnoxious warrior, he was always like that, ruining a perfect moment with one of his crude jokes or saying something stupid, but that one really set her off, because it wasn't just a dream, it was a vision.

_A great battle was being waged on a world engulfed in fire and shadow, armies clashed against one another on the surface of the smelted planet and dozens of gunships sailed through the skies raining down death upon those unfortunate below and the beast that roam the sky, she could see warriors from many factions: The Horde, The Alliance, Earthen Ring, Cenarion Circle, Argent Crusade, The Ebon Blade, and the Kirin Tor. But there were others, dozens of others were fighting alongside them, warriors shrouded in black robes and was magical swords that altered shape and wielded devastating magic, green clothed agile warriors that possessed magic and skill that rival any mage or rogue, using only small daggered and shuriken like weapons to kill with the same efficiency as any greatsword or bullet. There were dozens of others, one in neat blue uniforms that could reshape the earth with their very touch, creating weapons and wonders that destroyed demons droves, warriors in green cloth and conical helmets that could move the earth with a motion of their hands, warriors in red and black that could shoot fire from their fists and feet, ones in tribal blue that could manipulate water and use it as a weapon. She saw thousands of these warriors fighting across the landscape, killing demons in scores, hundreds fell in seconds and more were following behind them_

_High above, Air ships roamed through the sky and many smaller goblin and gnomish flying machines rained down death from above, as well as gryphon and dragon riders destroying any demonic creatures that roamed the fiery skies above. The heavens reigned with fire, blood, bodies and roars of challenge and excitement, it was truly a battle of the ages, hundreds of thousands were fighting against one another, one side had the power and ability that gave them superiority, the others had numbers so vast one would think they would be an endless army. Spires and buildings fell apart all around, crushing demons beneath their metal walls, siege engines and war machines took down anything in their wake, many she recognised as Horde and Alliance war engines, but there were others she had not seen before, she would have tried to see more but she couldn't._

_Her vision took her to a great spire in the centre of the demonic city, there she saw a battle that she knew would be the end of all other battle, there standing against the leader of the Legion, Kil'jaeden the Deceiver, his great demonic wings spread across his back and his tail whipping around behind him like a red snake. In his hands he holds a great sword that was inscribed with dark fell runes that radiated with evil power, ahead of him was a small band of warriors ready to battle him. She could remember several features of the people she had seen in her vision._

_She saw a young man in his late teens, possibly around twenty; he had spiky blonde hair that flowed down the back of his neck, which was held away from his face by a headband with a small rectangular plate above his forehead, which had the circular spiralling symbol with a point at the base. His face bore three whisker marks on either cheek, his eyes were a bright blue and he wore a confident smirk showing that even in the presence of the demon lord he was not scared. He wore light leather armor along with a free flowing elbow length red cloak, with black flames along the ends, and in his hand he held in a reverse grip an ornamental short sword._

_Another was a young man, she thought he was maybe only sixteen years of age based on his height, but upon closer inspection she could see he was definitely close to the same age as the first blonde, he had long golden hair that flowed down his back in a braid. His eyes matches his hair in color and consistency, but she could feel the fire that burned within them, the determination she saw was impalpable, he wore leather armor similar to his other blonde compatriot as well as a red trench cloak, but he wore white cloth gloves and seemed to have two retractable blades, barely viable under his coat, connected to his wrists. On his gloves she saw two runic circle patterns; but she could not discern their purpose, but she could guess that they were transmutation circle._

_The third was a woman, she was like the others in her early twenties; she had long brown hair that was tied into a three pony tails – two on either side of her head and one at the back – flowing down to her shoulders. Her build was firm yet remained feminine, she was definitely strong in body, and her deep blue eyes focused solely on the demon ahead of her, but that did not stop a confident smirk the appear on her lips. When Draga first laid eyes on her she could almost feel like she was watching a shaman, but not just any shaman, a spirit walker, she could feel the strength of not one but dozens, maybe hundreds of other beings flow through her. She wore light leather clothing; her arms exposed, her only protection being forearm length metal bracers, her hands were armored with metal cestuses that flowed over her fingers but were flexible enough to allow free movement, she flexed her hands waiting to strike._

_Another female appeared beside her, she was in her early twenties, she wore light metal armor and wielded a large claymore, she had shortcut blonde hair that framed her emotionless face; she looked on with her silver eyes at the demon before her without fear. The only part of her that was not covered in armor where her legs and arms, only skin tight leather covered her limbs, she held her claymore in one hand and remained like a statue until she was ready to strike, she could feel a powerful force within her, but it wasn't something she would expect, she felt an almost demonic presence within._

_The third woman was the oldest of them all, but only by a handful of years, in her mid to late twenties, a still young woman with long, light pink hair, that framed her heart-shaped face, with aqua colored eyes she stared down at the demon with grim determination. She wore both leather and mail armor, most of her form was covered in thin leather save for her left arm which was fully covered by thick plated steel which had a lightning bolt engraved on her shoulder piece, in her hand she held a one handed sword, she couldn't understand the shape and design of the weapon, it look almost like it could fold in on itself._

_A man came into view he has long blonde spiked hair, which she noted almost all the others have too, he wore light plated armor and wielded a large six foot long cleaver-like sword, which was almost five inches shorter than he was tall. He had blue eyes, which glowed in an unnatural way, and stared down at the deceiver with stoicism, but was ready for anything._

_The last was a young man in his early twenties, he had long spiky orange hair and amber eyes; he wore a solid metal chest piece under a tight fitting black sleeveless coat that flows down to his feet, held together by three x-shaped straps across his chest. Two small pauldrons rested on his shoulders, which connected to tightly fitting black armor that flowed down his arms. In his hand was a long dark single edged blade, she could see the dark blade absorbing the natural light around it, with three protrusions along the blunt end of the sword close to its tip, with a small black chain connected at the end of the hilt. He had a natural scowl adorning his face and gave off the aura on a deadly warrior, when she stared at him she could feel the determination flow off of him like heat from a fire; she could feel the intent behind every action he made: the intent to kill._

_"Pathetic Mortals! You think that you can stop us, the Legion was burnt across the cosmos since the dawn of time, and you think you can stop the fire that will cleanse every world in existence? Fool! All will be un-made and I shall reshape the universe into my Image!" roared Kil'Jaeden, his voiced echoing across the room and shaking the very ground, but none of the warriors flinched or battered an eye at him, the young orange haired man stepped forward and pointed his sword at the great demon and proclaimed._

_"Is that so, you think you can beat us because you've been at this longer than us?" the cocky voice of the orange haired young man replied; a smirk graced his scowling face as he continued. "Sorry to disappoint you Kil'Jaeden, but this ends here"_

_A pillar of black fire erupted around the young man, he was completely unaffected by the dark flames that danced around him, but Draga could feel the force of his power pressing down against her, it was impossible to describe the size of it. It felt like a mountain had been put on her shoulder and her lungs were being crushed, this wasn't a spell it was a manifestation of his power, his raw unadulterated power, he lost his smirk and replaced it with an even deeper scowl, before finishing with a decree._

_"The Legion will fall, all the worlds you have taken will be set free, and you will pay for every world you burnt, every civilisation your drove to extinction, for every man, woman and child you slew! You. Will. Pay!" he roared, the flames erupting around him even more, like an inferno the flames burned across the massive room, behind him the others took on fighting stances and prepared. The orange haired man gripped his sword with hand hands and drew it back, an explosion of dark flames erupted from his blade as he along with over twenty others charged the Supreme commander of the Burning Legion._

_As he drew close she heard him utter an incantation before he swung his sword, they were words of power, strong clear and struck fear into any who heard it, for they knew it would be the end of them._

_"Getsuga Tensho!" he roared, swinging his sword down at the demon lord, as a wave of black flames engulfs the Deceiver…_

It is there that her vision ended, she had no idea what she had just seen, she knew she saw a vision of the future but how far into the future was it, she did not see any people she recognized in the battle nor did she see know any of the people that took part in the fight against the Deceiver. The only details she could go on where the brief descriptions of each of the people she could make out, their cloths and weapons along with their unique appearance would help narrow it down. She had this vision nearly a year ago and it had been coming to her several times a month, the more she saw the more she learned from it, at first she only saw the very end of the vision and the words 'Getsuga Tensho' whatever that meant. But eventually she was able to make out people and other individuals, most notably the young orange haired warrior, she had brought this up to her master and he had took some time to contact his colleagues in the other fleets.

When he heard back from them they had no information on the man, they had never seen a person who fit that description before nor did they know anyone who wielded such a unique sword or attire, this was also the same for all the others she had seen over the months. They had given her so little to go on, no names to verify with and the only insignia's she had were the ones on the brown haired woman, the blonde with the white runic gloves and the other with the whiskers and headband, she knew that this vision was important. It showed the defeat of the burning legion's supreme commander, if that was not important than what is, she had spoken to Mairne about these visions and he had told her at first they were just dreams, but when they continued she had been brought before the elder council.

To say she was honoured would be incorrect, for this was not a summons to inaugurate her into some special group or order, but nervous that was about right, she was brought there to be questioned about her visions. She was questioned by five of the council elders, one being her master – Mairne – and the rest being other well respected Earthen Ring members, she was questioned on her vision and what she saw and the people she noticed, she was also asked if she had trouble sleeping, if she would hear voices or would black out on occasion. She told them the truth, she had not blacked out or heard any voices, she had only seen the vision that would come to her one or twice a week in her sleep, when she finished they stared at her for a moment before escorting her out, there was nothing that came of the meeting afterward. But she did noticed that the elders and several other were starting to take an interest in her, some would stare at her for a moment before turning away as to not be caught, but she saw their stares, some she could see worry and pity, what did she do to deserve this.

That was over four months ago, and still the people around her treated her differently, she didn't like all the murmuring and glanced she received from them, she was uncomfortable enough being who she was before coming to the council, but now, Draga really felt like an outcast. She would regularly visit Mairne to train and learn but she could see even he was treating her differently, that saddened her, she looked up to him like a father, her own father had died in the Alliance-Horde war before she was born. The fact he was distancing himself from her hurt her deeply, she had nothing but respect for Mairne, she had tried to ask him subtly why he was doing so but he offered her nothing, he said only that he had her best interests at heart. But even those words couldn't bring her comfort, she has always been an outsider, never knowing about her own people or having many friends, when she entered the earthen ring she was so happy, she could finally make some friends and feel like someone. Now she felt like the only person she had left to call a friend is someone she thinks shouldn't be her friend, how sad her existence was, and she was beginning to feel that there was something more to that meeting than what was previously let on.

Taking a deep calming breath she composed herself and made her way to the meditation room, where she would continue her training before going off to have dinner and then back to her quarters for a nice relaxing night to herself.

Mairne glanced down at the reports he had in his hands, he grimaced as he read through the lines, he along with the other commanders were busy reading through the different missives that had been given to them today, most of it were troop deployment, company strength details and Garmak current available resources. He along with the other commanders were busy having their weekly meeting and sorting out the business of the fleet as a whole, which involved the current status of their ships and their occupants, which was fine, aside from the recent orders from their superiors from the First.

"This is ridiculous" exclaimed Knight-Captain Lucius Dreadmoore, Supreme commander of the Knights of the Ebon Blade's Battalion within the fleet, his blue eyes glowing with much more intensity than before, he threw away an order from his superiors. He wore thick plates of runic armor, his entire body was encased in the dark metal save for his deathly pale face, which seemed to be able to darken any room he enters, and his presence was very ominous to the weak of heart. He had long white snow white hair that flowed straight down his back, the colour of his hair was the reason for his command, for depending on the shade of ones hair with the Knights of the Ebon Blade determined the amount of power they wielded, for the dark energies paled the skin and the hair. "They send us out to scrounge up food, while the rest of them are off conquering and destroying demons! This is absurd we should be on the front fighting!"

"Calm yourself Knight-Captain, even though we are not fighting, we are still doing our part in this war." said Mull Stormhoof, current chieftain of the Stormhoof clan and commander of the Confederate Tauren Tribes of the Horde of the Seventh Fleet. He was a massive creature, standing over eight feet tall, his muscles were large and thick, he wore little armor over his form, revealing his broad shoulders and wide chest for all to see. His body was covered in intricate runes, as was his vocation, he was a Runemaster, and one of the handful in the fleet, and each rune on his body was able to bestow upon him different attributes, increased strength, agility, stamina, speed, durability. He was still relatively young for a Chieftain and Commander, only forty years of age, even among the other races this was relatively young, but he had shown time and time again he was willing and capable of leading his people into battle.

"I disagree, we should be on the front lines fighting, not going on a shopping trip for the other fleets, let them get their own food." Argued Danforth Lichhunter, the Commander of the Defilers of the Seventh, even though he was undead one could never tell, he wore thick purple robes that hid his physical deformities from all and the only way one could tell he was one, was because of his slimy and hollow voice. "Besides, when the hell are we actually going to be meeting up with them, were three weeks from the nearest fleet and two months from the furthest, how the hell do they expect us to get the food to them before we go through it all."

"We intend to store the food in the Biosphere domes, and plant the new crops and have their growth accelerated that way we can increase our own food stores and then deliver the foodstuffs to the other fleets, and also we don't just intend to buy food, we need other valuable resources: Metals, Plants, Timber, and Phlogiston." Said Arch Druid Fulgrim Razorwing, he was the leader of the small enclave of Cenarion Circle druids which were accompanying the seventh fleet. He wore light green robes over his form, his skin was purple as was the usual skin color of the Night elves; he was a calm individual that would not be angered quickly and would state the facts as they were, he was as good as a politician in an parliament as he was a warrior on the battlefield, authoritative and ruthless.

"He's right, we've gone through a lot of fuel, in fact we're down to twenty two precent our full capacity, and the other fleets aren't even at half that" said Engineer Grizzlow, he was the Main Engineer of the Horde's gunships, he would maintain their engines and mechanics as well as maintain the ships fuel and precious ore reserves, even though most goblins were greedy and mischievous he was at least smart enough to know when to make an extra buck and when to do his job. "From what my boys tell me, they won't last the year with what they got left"

"Yes, but come on, there has to be a better way, can't they work with the food reserves and get their own resources, they have in their own bio-domes don't they" complained Danforth, obviously still not seeing as to why they were being forced to do this.

"No the domes aren't large enough for them to manufacture Liquid Phlogiston, the domes are artificial and we need natural sources to acquire the fuel, and since the equipment takes time to set up and then to begin processing we usually don't get enough return from what we use during the campaign." replied Grizzlow

"That's right, as for the crops, most of their agricultural areas in the domes have been exhausted due to over farming, also they've stretched their resources to far and are no longer able to sustain an environmental balanced in the domes, they require new vegetation in order to return to full strength. And plus the Eco-Domes also provide oxygen for the ships when they exit the Twisted Nether and then enter the Greater Dark, if the environment's in the domes fail then the ships will have no oxygen and then everyone will suffocate." said Melanie Gearbottom, lead supervisor of the Research and Science Division in the fleet, she maintains the Alliance gunship's engines and other vital systems. She was also one of the lead designers of the Echo Domes, these domes were based off the same domes found in Outland, in Netherstorm close to twenty years ago.

These Eco-domes were massive Kilometre in diameter spheres that held within it a sustainable environment; inside one could find an entire ecosystem brimming with life – both in plant and animal – and with this they can use such areas for farming crops as well as animals for food. For the last ten years these domes have been used to maintain a large population and have seen no faults save for the need to replant and repopulate the native fauna and wild life.

"Then why not send out some scouts to search for this shit, it's not like one ship can't do it, then we can get back to what matter most, killing demons." exclaimed Lucius, like most death knights he was a man who thrived for battle and bloodshed, even with all that has happened in the past decade he was seemingly un-affected by it all.

"Sadly that won't work" said Shakuni, he was the Vindicator-General of the seventh fleets Draenei forces, and the captain of the Garmak; he would command the fleet from the bridge of the ship and guide it on its course. He had long pale grey hair; he was burly and wore thick gold and silver plated armour, on his back was a large maul, which showed only that he was a paladin of the light. "We require the Garmak to travel from one point to another, on its own the ships cannot travel through the Nether from one place to the other without having to travel the distance by the Greater Dark alone."

"Ah, this is bullshit, why do we have to do this?" shouted the Death Knight

"Because it is our duty" the hard gravelly voice of Mairne Ragetotem responded, Leader of the Earthen Ring with in the Seventh, Member of the Elder Council, and Supreme Commander of the Seventh Fleets Armies. Every decision made for the benefit of the fleet had to pass by him before it was approved, he commanded with a fair and firm hand, no one could doubt he deserved the position but that did not mean he would not butt heads with the other commanders.

"We are not a just an army, we are a people, every soul that resides on these ships must be cared for, even yours Death Knight" Lucius sneered at the Shaman's words before casting his attention elsewhere. "We have workers, craftsman, farmers, doctors, all these people are not here to fight; they are here because they have nowhere else to be, after all these years I had expected you to know that this war is not only about stopping the Legion but also safe guarding our people. And just think we are one of seven, we have been given a task that will ensure the survival of the seven fleets and out people, remember that fact, Death Knight"

"Mairne, no one is denying that our mission is important, but from the places we have come across in the past, there is very little resources we can scrounge up, most of the people there are starving and have exhausted their natural resources long before we even arrived." Said Commander Cadeyrn Thunderclaw, commander of the Dwarven Iron Cohort, he was a commander from the Wildhammer clan and a skilled shaman, he leads the dwarven iron cohort in the seventh and is also a member in the Elder Council of the Earthen Ring. "How do they expect us to find somewhere that has enough resources to supply and revitalise seven whole fleets."

Mairne rose from his seat and made his way towards the massive window at the end of the room, he looked out to the stars and observed the patterns he could see through the swirling energy that blocked out much of his view, and it would always hurt his eyes when he looked upon the energy that was the Twisted Nether. He knew that since the only means to travel between the different worlds of the greater dark was to use the Nether there was no other choice, it would take centuries even millennia to reach another world without the use of Dimensional Ships for travel. That is what the Garmak was, it was the Dimensional ship that lead the seventh fleet from world to world, fighting against the forces of the Burning Legion, it was the smallest of the seven fleets, having only eight ships in total, Their command ship the Garmak, three escorts – The White Wolf, The Unseen Punisher, Glorious Pride – Two Carriers – The Devourer, Death's Caterer – and two Bio-dome ships – The Fortune, The Abundant Globe – these ships made up the seventh fleet and within lived thirteen thousand soldiers and – within the Bio-Domes – over one hundred thousand civilians.

"We have been given three months to find a world that contains any valuable resources, we will gather as much as we can in that time and depart for a Legion stronghold that is in the process of being reclaimed, and meet with our fellow flotillas." Said Mairne, his voice unwavering as he spoke, it was not just a speech but also an order, they have been fighting in this war for nearly ten years now and they could not see an end to it anytime soon. But in truth nearly everyone in the fleet knew that this war would not end, the legion had been at large for millennia and they have spent only a decade against them, what hope they had at defeating such a foe was non-existent.

"Where is our next heading?" asked High Marshal Lysander Reinhart, trying to get the meeting back on course, he was the commander of the Alliance 7th legion as well as the supreme commander of the Alliance forces within the 7th fleet, his middle-aged face he had a serious scowl that was always present no matter his mood, he had short spiky black hair with a bushy goatee and dark green eyes.

"From our charts we have three worlds that can be travelled to from this one. Our scouts have travelled from each of them, and from what we can tell only one seems to be a viable option, the other two are pre-industrious societies and appear to have technology reminiscent of the Amani trolls." reported Melanie, gazing at the report on the planet the scout had been teleported to as advanced scouts, since they couldn't send ships through the nether without a dimensional ship they could however create portals to adjacent worlds to gather information, the use a hearthstone to return, before the fleet makes its move.

"It appears to have many valuable resources, including food, technology and natural materials, also it says here that your people have visited this in the past." she continued, glancing towards Shakuni for confirmation.

"Yes, I know of this world personally, our people visited it over five thousand years ago, the dominant race are humans as a matter of fact" he said, surprising some of the people, it was not very often that one comes across a world that has a race similar to those on another world.

"That's odd, usually each world has its own unique races" said Archmage Manath Magesinger, the current commander of the Kirin Tor contingent within the 7th fleet, he was a middle aged man dressed in both cloth and metal, he was a battle-mage, a wielder of steel and magic, he wore thick robes of blue and purple under thick chain mail and plates, in his hand he wielded a magi staff, a metal rod with the headpiece of the Kirin Tor eye held within a ring. While at his hip was a long ornate sword, which glowed in a dull blue. He had long blonde hair that stretched past his shoulders and a beard that reached his chest, even though he was in the middle of his life he still appeared youthful and healthy, strong features and few blemishes marred his flesh.

"That is true, but what does the report have to say?" asked Fulgrim

She read through the report.

_World: 7-25 (The numbering system for the fleets, the first number is the number of the fleet and the adjacent numbers is the number of the world they have currently visited at this time: 7th Fleet, twenty-fifth world)_

_Technological Level: Advanced, capable of Greater Dark traversal but unable to pierce into the twisted nether to travel from other worlds, possess many different weapon technologies and everyday devices; would recommend acquiring the technology and studying them for potential uses in the war against the Legion._

_Magical Awareness: Limited, all possess a small fraction of Mana and an unknown energy source, but both are dormant and too small to use or harness. However several areas seem to have large concentrations of the unknown energy, possible lay-line points that breach through the earth and to the surface, further information required._

_Hostiles: 7-25 has only one dominant species, humans, they are all highly dangerous to a degree, recommend that no non-humans visit the surface. Also certain countries and location should be avoided at all cost. Do not make them aware of your presence once you arrive, highly suspicious and violent when threatened and confused, recommend you keep orbit with their moon, also possess unknown orbiting machines that could detect you should you approach, recommend you remain at a distance._

_Extension: Also come in contact with unknown entities sometime after we arrived, seemed to be some form of predatory animal, it seemed to be attracted to out Magi and Warlocks, suspect they are drawn toward Mana, and it seems their bodies are made up of the unknown energy source that was detected earlier, target was captured and killed shortly after engagement, body began to rapidly decompose and disappear, investigation will continue._

_Extension: Seems these creatures are also being eradicated by another unknown force, reports of warriors in black robes killing them, no other information known, investigation will continue._

_Resources: Large amounts of resources readily available, food, metals, plants, medicines, and technology, but will require adequate compensation in order to acquire materials, recommend that resources such as gold, silver, gems, diamonds and other valuable minerals be sold off to adequate bidders for this world currency to buy our required materials without rousing suspicion._

_Planet name: Earth_

* * *

**Okay this is the Prologue to my new story, it's still in the works and requires some time before I start it, for now all I am asking is for some help with it, I am planning on introducing a lot of different universes into this story. For example the first crossover will be with Warcraft and Bleach.**

**But I intend to bring in others such as: Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, Claymore, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, Final Fantasy (VI through to XIII) and sadly that is where I fall, I simply don't have enough different universes to go on, I need more. Give me all your idea's, tell me about books you know, games you've played, anime's you've watched, tell me everything you know and then I can see if I can put it to use. Even if it is a small thing that can be good for a single arc, that would be great.**

**Now this is where my story becomes tricky, I have a very limited knowledge on some different anime's and maybe some games. So this is where you all come to my aid, I need different universes to visit, I need you to give me the names of different shows, books, games, anything you can think of that can be put into this story. But there are conditions, for example if I put bleach into this crossover then I won't be able to include an anime, or game, or book, that is set on earth, for I would have to go into too much detail on how they both exist in the same universe and planet and are intertwined (**_**For example, Bleach and Soul Eater, that's out, because while one is a bit more serious than the other, soul eater is where humans act and peace keepers and save souls from monster, where Shinigami are the same but they are spirits whose duty it is to perform this, both contradict one another. Also I don't want to have to create an entire story on why both these two different cultures exist with one another or how they 'just now' discover one another and then have to go into a huge amount of detail into why they both exist**_**). But if you pick something that had potential to be placed on a different world - or on the same world but in a completely different context to the other then let me know -, books, game then send the request and an explanation. Also another thing, there are some that are out because of several reasons, the animes, games, or books cannot be set in a place where they do not use swords or fight like a bunch of infantry in world war 1 (oh just go and walk up to the enemy, it'll be fine, some of you will reach them before you are killed, and the large amount of corpses will be good cover for the next couple of waves we send in 3 sure thing boss.) get it. They can be advanced but they still need to be hand to hand fighter, they need to still use swords, they can have guns but there has to be up close and personnel fighters in the mix, not guys from call of duty or mass effect, there is no way I am putting them in this story, to many loopholes will come up that I don't want to deal with.**

**Now onto the second part, since I will be doing bleach as my first crossover arc, I need three things from you all:**

**I need a timeline on when they could have arrived on Earth; I have been pushing for some time after the winter war with Aizen, maybe a few months after his defeat. But I want to know what you all think, so send your suggestions to me, there will be an email link don't the bottom for you to use.**

**I need a situation in which the two parties can meet one another, when a bunch of aliens land on earth and soul society notices them I want to know how they would respond and what would happen. As always I have my own idea what could happen but I want your input, there are things that even the smartest of men cannot hope to dream up.  
**

**I need Characters, plain and simple, I need characters for this fic, so send them to me, I will require a name, age, sex, height, physical description, physiological profile, weapons, race (depending if they are from the warcraft universe or the Bleach one) rank, special ability (This includes a unique ability of the character, such as a Zanpakutō shikai ability or a mage ability you made up.) All characters will belong to their respected owners and creators.**

_For Example:_

_Name: Hiroto Nakahara_

_Age: one hundred, (Appears to be twenty)_

_Sex: Male_

_Height: six foot, four inches (198cm)_

_Physical Description: Smooth shoulder length black hair, blue eyes, youthful appearance, masculine features, well built, many scars over his body, stoic face, scar running from his forehead over his left eye and mouth to his chin, wears a standard Shinigami robes._

_Philological profile: Calm and collected when on duty and in battle, can is angry if his opponents are weak, but is happy when they are strong, he takes his time with stronger enemies, has a warriors philosophy and believes that he should die fighting against the better man._

_Weapon: Kurushī shūen (Painful Demise) – Wakizashi_

_Shikai: Release Command: Decimate, Kurushī shūen (Weapon turns into a Ono {Japanese Axe/Hatchet}, a 19 inch long wooden shaft, with wide lunar shaped blade, tri-part back blade, and spear shaped top blade, the blades with etched decoration featuring wild animals and hunters.)_

_Bankai: Not Yet Achieved_

_Race: Shinigami_

_Rank: Ninth Seat – Eleventh Division_

_Special Ability: Rend – when striking against the enemy Hiroto can concentrate his spiritual energy into the edge of his blade, when he does this the weapon is able to pierce through any armor or weapon that is in his path, the edge of his blade glows a deep dark purple showing that he is using the ability, but the ability can only covered an inch from the blade and last a moment before it disperse. If the weapon doesn't cut completely through the target, or if he doesn't have the necessary force generated from his swing, then his weapon may become trapped either in the weapons or the armor he is cutting through. But if the target is able to focus enough reitsu into his weapon or possibly armor he can stop them attack, but only when it is stronger than the condensed spiritual pressure on the edge of the axe._

**Simple but you get the gist of it.**

**Send you requests and other info to this email address or to the PM box of my account.**

**Email Address: unitedagainstthelegio .au **


	2. Arc 1, Chapter 01: This Wretched World

**Hello Everyone, here is the beginning of what I am calling the Shinigami Arc of my story, now I would like to thank you for your support as well as some ideas on other stories that I can place into this Fanfiction.**

**Negima Magister Negi Magi – I haven't fully read into the Manga but I feel that I may be able to bring it into the story somehow**

**Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha – Just like the one above I haven't fully read into this and am looking to see where I can add this universe into my fic, but I think I will put this in my fic, im almost certain of it.**

**Fairy Tail: Definitely, I was thinking about bringing this in but I must have forgotten about it, thanks for the reminder.**

**Familiar of Zero: HAHAHA, I would love to bring my guys there, show those vain bastards what real magic is, oh man that would be a hoot.**

**Thanks for some of the suggestions, most of these came from kinglugia, and he also said some others, some that I personally don't think will blend in with the story correctly because of their lore and characters. And for one particular reason which I won't name, because of you I have been having thoughts that are haunting my nights and distracting my thoughts, when I looked at the name I thought it was some comedic manga series , not some sick perverted F################. Anyway I will make you pay for that badly.**

**Now on with the story.**

**Updated: 14/02/2013**

* * *

**United Against the Legion of Flames**

**Chapter: 01, Arc 01 – This Wretched World**

**Earth, Australia, VIC, Melbourne**

Joana Lightlance walked through the small hallway towards the executive of office of BHB Billiton, a Petroleum and Mining corporation whose headquarters are situated in Melbourne, Australia; this company owned many mining fields in the western parts of Australia, which mined specific resources that the 7th Fleet required. Steel, Iron, Brass and a new metal recently discovered, Titanium, a metal similar to their own Titansteel, and they had large quantities of it and had mines across the entire globe in which they could extract and harvest, with refineries that could process and refine it to their specifications. Since their departure from Azeroth they had been forced to use old reforged metal for their armour and weapons, which sadly can't match up against the demons, only the small amount of Titansteel that was brought along was used to create weapons and armour for the more experienced and valuable warriors within the fleets. But if they could acquire more they could equip their entire army with Titanium and save countless lives that would have perished if they continued to use mundane armour made of iron and steel.

Joana wore a form fitting business dress that complimented her curves, which did not go unnoticed by any who passed her, though she did not care much about her outward appearances she felt very livid about wearing this dress, when she first put it on she felt so lewd and improper. But she was able to suck up her nerves and deal with it as best she could, which involved a lot of afternoon training sessions with a punching bag to vent her frustrations, but there was also the fact they had to be versed in this world's economy and etiquette in order to understand how they were to conduct themselves when they went into different companies in order to request their product.

Luckily for her she was only asked to gather base metals and materials from several mining corporations in Australia, at first they intended to send more agents, but after a little word she was able to mediate between the companies on her own and travel to their headquarters of a regular basis to acquire the goods she wanted. She was dealing with five separate corporations and making good time, she was able to get quotes and learn how long it would take to gather the resources she needed, and another fact she learnt was that she could have them refined as well; saving them more time and resources they would need scrounge up in order to refine the ore themselves. Her main goal was to collect as much Titanium from the companies as possible; it shared similar properties with Titansteel, which meant it was strong, light and highly resistant to the elements, which made it perfect for creating armour, weapons and the shielding for their siege engines. This world had vast quantities of it and they were going to get as much of it as possible, she worked out that she could collect over eight thousand tons of it alone from BHB Billiton, that was a huge boost to what they believe they thought they were going to be able to acquire, they now believed they could actually supply all the fleets with this metal.

With that much Titanium under their noses they could supply all the other fleets, with weapons, armor, siege engines, new warships and maybe even the creation of new dimensional ships, the amount of material they were collected was going to allow them to mass produce what they needed on a massive scale. When they learnt about the quantities they could collect, dozens of others were sent out to find and collect as much of the ore as possible, in fact close to a dozen others are currently doing the same as her, finding any company they can and collecting it as fast as they can, whether it be refined or not they wanted it badly. She was also in regular contact with Melanie Gearbottom, who wished for other unique metals for her experiments, which included combining other metals with their own to make alloys, she had procured a list and now she was receiving these materials in almost equal amounts. The amount they had collected was massive, and the amount they had to pay for it was just as huge, they had never thought with all the money they collected from selling to this worlds market that they would use too much, but seven billions dollars later they thought otherwise.

She stood before the chairman she had been dealing with for the last month now; he was the man who would update her on the current status of their dealing, which included inflammation in prices, delays in production and anything that would cause problems in their business relationship. As of late there have been none to speak of, aside from the daily meeting in order to finalise the financial side of their agreement they have been doing exceptionally well, there had been a few delays due to the factories working none stop to meet their demand as well as their other clients. But they were easily corrected and now she had come to make sure that their product was going to be delivered on schedule, after all she had only one and half months left before the 7th fleet departed.

"The materials that I requested: are they on schedule?" asked Joana, her voice was devoid of any emotion, she looked at Glenn Kellow, the current president of the Stainless Steel resource division within the company, and also her liaison between her and his employers. She stood before him like a soldier and waited for his response.

"Yes, the metals are being processed and refined as we speak, but we still need time for them to refine such a large amount, we may be the largest supplier of Titanium in the world but that doesn't mean all of it goes directly to making metal." He replied, looking up at the beautiful woman before him, and his eyes dangerously wandering over her form.

"I suspect this won't cause any problems?" Joana asked, there was some bite in her tone, which meant for the man to either stop ogling her or have his manhood removed along with the head on his shoulder.

"No, we are still on schedule, and based off the current numbers we should be able to get it to you by the deadline, as well as all of the other requested metals and ores, you took us by surprise when you asked for it, we didn't know if we could meet your demand."

"My employer didn't require them at the time" she stated plainly.

"Of course, they will be ready for you in six weeks' time"

"Good, my employer will be please that everything is going well, contact me if there are any change in the timetable." She replied before turning on her high heels and started to walk away.

"Of course, but before you go, there is a matter need to discuss, our final payment." Joana stopped and said without looking towards him.

"We have paid you already and a very substantial sum if I might add" she spoke, her voice now gaining a slight edge, but the man did not catch it.

"That is different, you paid for the Titanium to be mined and then refined, but not the other materials, and you still need to pay for the final sum that will allow us to transfer the material over to your employer" he said in a civil tone, Joana turned to look at the man, her amber eyes boring into his brown, he felt uncomfortable speaking with the woman on occasion she seemed more like an fighter than business woman.

"How much are we talking about?"

"Eighty million" he said, Joana narrowed her eyes at the man "Look, it may be steep but remember you are asking for fifteen thousand tons of Titanium alone, as well as half as much in Copper, Iron and Steel, because you paid for the labor and the refinement you are actually saving more money than you would have if you had tried to do it normally."

He was right; on that note her people would have had to spend nearly two billion alone on acquiring the necessary materials from BHB Billiton and then have said materials refined and readied for transport, but they were lucky enough to have had to spend about one and a half. But still he was pushing his luck if he thought he could try and scrounge any more money out of them, but she knew these people cared only about making their pockets that much bigger, no matter who they crossed, so she could use that to her advantage.

"Contact me when the materials are ready to be shipped out, you will be paid once they are ready to be shipped out, not before, once that it done you will be provided with a drop off point and will meet with my colleagues, the last payment will be made when we inspect the cargo." She finished before walking out, but she left with one last message. "If you do this right and to our specifications we will consider giving you extra for your hard work, but only if you do so to our specifications."

It was then she left, leaving the company's main headquarters and into the busy streets of Melbourne, she felt the heat from the sun hit her as she stepped out through the door, the only thing she enjoyed about this place was the air conditioners installed in the buildings, that was probably their only saving grace from her opinion on these people. But still she had been told by her friend Rosaria that the main cause of this heat was because of pollution from these humans, she didn't understand the basic principle of combustion but she knew enough about ill effects to know that if done too much it can do more harm than good.

She walked down the street and eventually found her driver waiting for her, one of her young Paladin recruits had taken up the role of being her escort while in the city as well as her personnel driver and aid, Raven Silverguard was her name. She looked at the black Holden WM Caprice and the young paladin that held the door open for her, she was a tanned skinned woman showing she had spent much of her young life in the sun, her black hair was tied in pony tail and hung over her left shoulder, she was twenty five years old and a very skilled warrior of the sword and holy art of battle. Much like herself when she was her age, but unlike her, Raven was raised in a home and with family, where she was raised in a church as an orphan, making her character very different from her in many ways. Joana stepped into the car and took her seat and buckled herself in, she was relieved to see the cars air conditioner was on and cooling the inside of the car to a perfect twenty degree Celsius, she opened her purse and pulled out another piece of technology she had procured from this world, an IPad.

It was a fascinating little gadget, she had never uses anything like it before but found it very useful, she tried to compare it something she had seen before and the only thing that came to mind was the Titan Interface she saw when she travelled through Ulduar close to eighteen years ago. Those were some of the best memories she had, her time on Azeroth before this entire war began, even though there was constant blood and slaughter she was still only a hearthstone away from her beloved city, but now she had only a portside accommodation on the Garmak. She cast away those thoughts for the time being, she needed to update her commanding officer on the situation and make sure that they had the funds needed to pay for the materials, she powered up the miniature computing device and waited as it started up. An image of the Stormwind Brigade appeared on the loading screen, and an authorization code was required, she inputted her code and the screen welcomed her back.

Eventually a large number of columns appeared on the screen – ranging from previous reports on her mission, current stock prices, and quotes from BHB Billiton – she slid through the multiple apps and eventually found what she was looking for, a small multi-user interface, she clicked it and eventually she came face to face with Marshal Lysander Reinhart. When they first set down on the world they had gathered as much information as they could on how the could infiltrate and blend in with the society as well as use their technology to their advantage, this was one, a unique communication medium between them and the fleet. It was tricky for the gnomes to figure out how it worked but once they got schematics on it they were no trouble at all, now they could gather information on the world from its World Wide Network without having to set foot on the planet, which was what the Gnomes of the Research department have been doing since they arrived.

"Captain Lightlance, what's the situation?" said Marshal Cadeyrn Thunderclaw – Cadeyrn was the commanding officer of the Dwarven Brigade within the 7th Fleet, though he leads the Ironforge Dwarves he is of Wildhammer descent, he wore a no armor over his thick muscled arms which were covered in many tattoos and markings showing further he was of the Wildhammer Clam. He had long orange Braided hair that flowed down his back and a thick bushy beard running down his stomach, even though he was only four foot four he was a dangerous man to cross, as a Wildhammer Dwarf and as much as a Shaman – he looked up to the small circular plinth screen mounted on the left hand side of his office wall, there were eight in total mounted on the wall, they appeared as mirrors to the normal eyes but were advanced communication devices that allowed them to commune with another mirror. These had been instrumental when they began to use communication technologies such as the IPad's, by implanting a small communication stone within the device they could connect to one of the mirrors, this way no one could hack into the connection and there was no way they would lose it as the connection medium was magical rather than technological.

"I have just returned from the BHB Billiton Headquarters, we are on schedule." She reported mechanically, which was expected of her when speaking to an executive officer.

"Good, our boys in Russia and China have reported they are on schedule as well." Even though the Marshal was pleased he still kept a hard face, but he allowed it show in his tone "Is there anything else?"

"Yes, the man says we need to make one final payment before he hands over the Titanium and the other materials we had asked for." Joana replied, he could hear her contempt for the company in her voice, she knew - and he did as well - that they were stringing them along, trying to get more money out of them. Even though it was likely they would never be returning to this world they didn't like how greedy these humans were, it felt like they were giving the rest of them a bad name, the dwarves were similar in a way, always interested in jewels and rare mineral within the earth, but mostly to search for signs and information on their creators and the legacy they left behind.

"I see, we have spent a lot as it is, nearly four billion alone and that is just in Australia, how much is he expecting us to pay to get what is ours." asked Cadeyrn, his voice low and almost dreading the answer that was to come

"Eighty Million, though it isn't much out of our pocket it still is a substantial sum, how much have we gone through in the last month?"

"We were given a budget of twelve and a half Billion, sadly were down to our last one, getting these resources together is troublesome, I may need to ask Mairne if he can see about acquiring more funds for us. I'm doubtful that the other corporations won't be as kind as then in asking for more money from us." Stated Marshal Cadeyrn

"That may be for the best, the last thing we want is them delaying us on purpose just so they can get more money out of our pockets, after all we have given them only two months to get this done, they may be in the right for all we know." Said Joana, just as she finished Cadeyrn saw one of the mirrors turn black, he looked towards it and soon an image of one of his other agent appeared.

"Sergeant Hydrias, what is it?" asked Cadeyrn, as Joana watched she saw her screen split in two and saw the face of Sergeant Novik Hydriras appear, he was a young man, around the same age as Raven but he appeared older, his features were more aged and he had a sullen face. She knew very little of the man, he was a line officer and as such never took much time to get to know those not under her command or occupation, he was a soldier, she was paladin.

"Sir, there has been an incident." Said Novik, on close inspection they saw smoke rising from the background, the sun was still raising over the horizon, and only lit up a small amount of the blasted landscape he was in.

"What's happened?" asked Cadeyrn, his irritation and worry rising, he didn't want any more problems than he already had, with him dealing with a large budget and greedy businesses, alongside running his forces and part of the fleet he had his hands full.

Instead of replying the Sergeant pressed a button on his screen, for a moment nothing happened except a small loading wheel appeared in the middle of the mirror; then a small screen pooped up on the right hand corner of Mirror, it showed a news reporter speaking about rioting in Southern Africa.

"…it is unknown who is responsible for the horrendous attack in the South of Africa" an image of a burnt out building in the middle of a small town in southern Africa could be seen, people wandering around aimlessly collecting whatever they could and police and military forces keeping the area secure.

"But based on eye witness accounts and evidence it points to Eze Okuro, a Warlord who has been causing unrest and chaos across South Africa." An image of a thin African man appeared, he had short hair and a beard; he wore a beret on his head and was holding an automatic weapon in his hands.

"Eze Okuro was a former colonel in the South African National Defense Force before he resigned, and formed his own militia three years ago, since then he had been forming a small movement to prevent other countries from trying to interfere with the current Government." Images show a group of trucks driving through the streets of a small village outside Johannesburg, in the back are militia with guns, the next image showed them rounding up people and then threatening the camera crew.

"He believes that Africa is being destroyed by outsiders who are trying to slowly take over the country and steal from its people what is rightfully theirs; as such he has been targeting international corporations and businesses that are present on the continent and killing any foreign individuals in the southernmost part of Africa." Gun fire could be heard as images show a small Red Cross care centre being attacked and destroyed by Militia, screaming from children and people could be heard.

"It has been reported that over thirty people have been killed this week alone, most were missionaries and health care workers, but there have been unconfirmed reports of several have gone missing."

"Because of this many international Businesses involved in human rights, Export, and Mining are being forced out of the country, causing plummets in stock from many different companies and corporations who have interests in Africa…" it was then that Novik removed the new report from view.

"As you can see sir, the mining groups in the area have been forced out and can no longer provide any of the requested ore" Novik sneered the words as he mentioned the Eze, Joana would have done the same, even though they didn't have much invested in this world they couldn't help but be disgusted on how it was run and ruled. "This warlord is a problem, he is causing too much of a hassle with our operation, his previous attacks have already set us back nearly two weeks, and now it looks like we won't be getting any more Titanium from these people."

"How much are we going to lose if this continues?" Asked Candeyrn, his voice low and angry, not about the loss of resources but the loss of life suffered because of one man's insanity.

"About six thousand tones, and that just in Titanium, we can't let him cause any more problems, he needs to be stopped" said Novik, his words were not lost to them; they knew exactly what he was implying.

"If he was removed would this situation improve?" asked Joana, a little uncertain if they should involve themselves in affairs that didn't involve them, after all if they did something they could upset the balance of the world more than it already was.

"Possibly, the mines have only just been abandoned and if they see that the warlord is dead then they could resume mining almost immediately, at best we lose only a couple hundred tonnes due to the delay, but we may be able to acquire what was lost from another source if needed. Getting a few hundred tones is easier than a six thousand after all" Said Novik, there was quiet for some time as Candeyrn thought over his options, he was trying to think of whether he should have the man killed or not, there were many factors he had to take into account.

Removing the man may cause uproar from the populace as well as the government, on his death after he caused problems for several international agencies, which could cause an imbalance in the international cooperation between several nations. Another factor was the fact that is he was killed they risk exposing themselves to the population and that could be dangerous, if they discovered them they would need to extract their people quickly and then run before they try and retaliate, which might upset the balance on the world below even more. Then there was what they were trying to do now, if they didn't get their Titanium they would be behind in a very valuable commodity, with how much they were gathering they would not need to resupply for years. He couldn't make this decision on his own however; this would affect the entire fleet so he would need to speak with the other commander before he made his decision and they made theirs.

"I'll need to speak on this with the High Shaman, for now see what you can find out about this Eze and send it through, and I'll contact you in a few hours." said Candeyrn, Novik nodded and soon his mirror faded to black and returned to normal, he looked across the room to the small clock on the wall before turning back to the mirrors "Sorry, I'm going to have to speak with you another time Commander, I'll contact you after the meeting later this afternoon."

"Of course sir" said Joana before her screen to faded to black before returned to a simple mirror that reflected the top of the Dwarfs head.

Cadeyrn slumped back into his chair, he had two hours before his meeting with the other commanders, it was unscheduled however which was what grabbed his attention, there was only two things that garnered an unscheduled meeting with all the commander, battle or orders from the first fleet. If it was orders from the fleet than it likely didn't involve them leaving the world they were on just now, otherwise they would have held a meeting already, it was probably something saying they had changed the world they were to meet at and maybe if they needed something else. But he had a feeling in his gut that there was something more to it, about three weeks ago he felt a strange sensation, he didn't know how to explain it but he along with many other spiritually and magically attuned individuals felt a sharp increase in 'Mana' if one could call it that, too large for anything normal. When it occurred there was a general meeting called with the Earthen Ring, Argent Crusade, Cenarion Circle and Kirin Tor about the disturbance, he was present and they had come to a consensus that they needed to locate the source of that spike. The High Shaman had gathered together nearly a hundred people, most of which were Shaman's, Priests, Paladin, Mages, Warlock, and Druids; they would search for the disturbance and discover its source, they knew that there two of them that occurred, each a minute or two apart.

They had been dropped off at several location across the world in order to locate the source of the disturbance, it was easy to sneak the Priests and Paladins through undetected, all of them were human as were the mages and Warlocks, but the Shamans and most of the Druids were forced to use their spiritual forms and Animal forms respectfully in their searches. For three weeks they had come up with nothing, only saying that they sighted unknown entities that seemed to be completely invisible to the human population, they say they are being attacked at random points in their searches, and when these entities are killed they disintegrate into nothing, so studying them was impossible.

Hopefully whatever they are chasing is not what he believes it is, because if it is, then it is likely this world will be destroyed.

**Command Bridge, Garmak**

Mairne stood before the entire commanding body of the 7th Fleet, nineteen generals stood around the table, including himself, and waited for the meeting to begin, Mairne had called them all here because there was a potential threat to the fleet as well as the world they were now sailing over.

"I thank you all for coming on such short notice." Said Mairne, he looked around to see all eyes were on him "As you know when we first arrived here we detected an unknown energy source across the planet, mainly it was focused in random locations across the world, we passed it off as simple Lay-line energies. But that is not true."

He could see his words had piqued their interest, while some it just annoyed because he was working his way into it, that being before he could continue he was interrupted by Lucius Dreadmoore.

"Enough with the dramatics, why are we here, I have better things to do then listen to you drone on about energy current and the flows of magic." He barked, earning a withered stare from Mairne and a few irritated one from the other commander.

"Be quiet Death Knight" said Kallista Glaivestorm, she spat out the last two words with uttered revulsion, she was a Night Elf Ranger, and one of the Marshal of Ashenvale before it was destroyed in the War between the Horde and Alliance. She had long silky white hair that flowed down her back, she had a very noble face, beautiful but stern, which was covered in red facial marking that, covered her unblemished purple skin, she wore light leather armor beneath her long cloak which concealed nearly her entire form. "Your presence is only tolerated because you usually have nothing to say, and that is how a corpse should be, silent"

The Knight-Captain did not take that insult sitting down; he rose from his seat to respond to her insult.

"You purple skinned bit…"

"Enough!" shouted Mairne, his voice boomed across the room and a small gust of wind accompanied his words, bringing all attention back to him, his eye boring into the two commanders before him, Lucius grimaced but remained quiet, while Kallista look slightly embarrassed for speaking out of turn. "I will let that little outburst slide for the moment, but another and you will both pay the consequences for your foolishness, understood"

A grunt and nod from Lucius and Kallista respectively showed they understood, he was satisfied and continued on with the meeting.

"Now, as I was saying: the energies we discovered were not normal; at first we have passed them off as unique to this world, but it would seem we were wrong." He said, around the table several member were looking at him apprehensively, as if they knew what was coming "Three Weeks ago we detected a massive outburst of energy, so powerful that we were able to sense if from here, every Paladin, Priest, Mage, Shaman, Druid, and Warlock in the fleet felt the presence, and from what we had hypothesized we have established that the energy is Demonic in nature.

This got everyone's attention, demonic energy? Shocked stares were sent around the table, as well as grim and despair, as if they knew about this beforehand. That only meant one thing, that there could be Burning Legion forces present on this world, if that was so then they would likely have to prevent them from trying to invade, it was their duty to protect any world assailed by the Legion.

"So then our worst fears are confirmed, the legion may be on this world" said Vedorthil Dawnspear, Captain of the Blood Knights accompanying the 7th Fleet; he wore gold and red armor from neck to toe, at his side was a long ornate elven sword which he grasped firmly at all times.

"You knew about this?" shouted Lysander, his hand slamming into the table, his eyes darting around to the other commanders looking for anyone else who may have known.

"Most of us knew, yes, but we kept it to ourselves until we could confirm it, and it would seem we have." Said Archmage Manath Magesinger, his head lowered as he took in the news, this was something he and many other didn't wish to hear.

"Did you not think to bring this up at one of the last three meetings since then?" asked Kallista, her anger very evident as Marshal Lysander's

"We wanted to confirm it before we made any decisions; after all we made sure that the legion was nowhere near this world when we came here." Defended Manath

"That doesn't mean the anything. They could be across the cosmos for all we know and still they could invade this world" Protested Lysander

"He's right, the legion can go anywhere they please if they so wished It." agreed Kallista

"Yes, but to do so, they need to set up portals in order to reach here, and we found none on any of the world that connect to this one or any of the others we visited along the way here" said Danforth, finally speaking up, before he went on to explain Nether travel to them "The Demons travel using the nether, as you all most likely know, the nether is like a bridge, connecting one point to another, but it is usually blocked by a barrier that needs to be broken and to do that they need portals, if you set up a portal on one end you can send someone over the bridge but not back across, therefore they need to set up one on that end to allow free access. That is how the legion usually travels form world to world, creating simple portals to link worlds that are connected by these bridges.

"Yes, yes we know so how, does that have any relevance here?" said Lysander

"Because this world is only connected to one other place and we came from there, this entire system is isolated, it means the legion can come from only one direction, and when we passed that world we found no traces of the legion on it, so therefore we had to assume that the Legion wasn't likely the cause of the power spike." Finished Danforth

"Then if it not a portal, what is it then?" asked Mull Runetotem

"It could still be a portal, a massive summoning ritual meant to summon a powerful Demon Lord could be taking place for all we know, but it doesn't match up, since for a summoning to work there has to be summoners, and the only way for them to get here is to travel by means as I had mentioned before." Replied Danforth

"But remember, travelling through from world to world is not as difficult as it seems, we do it with our scouts, teleporting them from one world to another, the demons could do the same, they don't need to conquer a world in order to invade another." Said Fulgrim

"True, but the reason is why they would come here, there were two other worlds over the one we came from, and they haven't assaulted them, so what is so important about a word that offers not strategic value or importance." Responded Manath

"That's right, they usually go for the worlds that have several nether connections so they can send out their forces over several worlds rather than one at a time" said Candeyrn, they all nodded in agreement, the legion would always be on the lookout for worlds that had a strong connection to the twisted nether, because they would have maybe a dozen or so bridges that connected to other worlds. That way they could march on over a dozen fronts and conquer a dozen worlds faster than going from world to world, it was how they acted; they were like a fire when they find the right fuel they spread out as quickly as they can.

"If that's the case then what's so important about this world then, I mean sure it's got a lot of resources but apart from that there's really nothing for them to gain, I mean they have what like a thousand world under their heels, what's one world resources compared to that." said Lucius

"It doesn't matter, if this is a demonic incursion or not, we have to investigate it" said Aurrius Darkhammer, he turned towards Mairne and continued "What is your plan?"

"As I have said: I have sent in teams to search for the source of the energies, there are several location around the world where it appears to be active, but after a week we found the possible source, and now out forces are converging on the position" Mairne activated a small systems on the briefing table, a planetary hologram appeared of earth and on it were several black areas signifying where they had detected the demonic energies. There was one area however where a small island was nearly hidden behind the dark energy, they could make out the top and bottom of the thin island that was situated near the largest of the northern most continents.

"That Island, what is it?" asked Danforth

"It is known as Japan, it is a small island nation off the coast of China, which is where the demonic energies are strongest" replied Mairne

"What do you intent to do, scour the entire island?" asked Fulgrim

"No, it would take too long, I intent to send in the search parties, they will separate into groups and then search every major city and village on the island and see if we can locate the epicentre of this disturbance, that way we can lower the search field and find out if there have been any strange occurrences in any population centre that indicate a demonic incursion." Said Mairne

"How many villages are we talking about?" asked Markus Montgomery, he was the commander of the Worgen within the fleet, they made up a large portion of the fleets numbers, most of them are soldiers but there are a few who are civilians affected with the curse. He wore heavy metal plates over his current human form and had two scars across his chiselled face – one running over his eye to his cheek, and another on the same cheek making it into an odd X shape – he had long unkempt hair and a beard.

"Around eight hundred, but there are small outer lying communities that aren't shown on the map, so souring them all will take time" Said Mairne

"Do you need to send in reinforcement?" asked Aurrius

"Maybe, I'll be contacting one of my shamans in the field in two days' time, anyone you can spare will be greatly appreciative." Said Mairne, he noticed that several of them appeared to be thinking of who they could send along, including Lucius. "Now if that is all…"

"High Shaman" said Candeyrn, Mairne looked to the stout Dwarven commander and nodded for him to continue "Thank you, it has come to my attention that there has been an interruption in our acquisition of resources in South Africa."

"Go on" said Mairne, leaning forward, he did not like this, they were scheduled to leave in six weeks, they couldn't afford any delays, it had taken them longer than expected to acquire the necessary funds to buy the materials from these humans, and now that there was a delay they couldn't afford to be stopped so early.

"There is a warlord who has been causing trouble, killing anyone he comes across; because of this the mining industry is being forced to pull out of the area for the safety of their workers." Said Candeyrn, there were some people who were quite interested in this character, they knew that this world worked differently, but there was a thought that was on everyone's mind on the matter of this Warlord.

"Why the hell don't they just kill the bastard then?" said Lucius, putting voice to their collective thoughts.

"I have to agree with Dreadmoore, if this man is a threat to innocent lives then he should be killed, so why is he still alive?" said Kallista, on a rare occasion she agrees with the Human Death Knight.

"Since he is in another country he is outside most of the other jurisdiction and also the local government doesn't want to get into any conflict in the area, their afraid of him, and they think killing him with cause backlash from his supporters." Said Candeyrn, earning some irritating expressions from the other commanders, he was a threat and they weren't going to remove him because they didn't have the nerve to do it. "That is why I believe we should take matters into our own hands."

This brought them all to attention, they didn't expect him of all people to want a person to be assassinated, and he was a Wildhammer Dwarf through and through, he was a man who would meet his enemies on the battlefield rather than having their throats cut from behind.

"What are you suggesting?" asked Aurrius, wanting to make sure they were all on the same page.

"We have him killed along with all his men" he said, earning some shocked stairs from some of the commanders. "That way we stabilise the region and lower the loss to a much more tolerable number."

"What's more tolerable?" asked Melanie Gearbottom, wondering if he was talking about lives or their resources.

"We stop him from killing more people and instead of losing six thousand tonnes of titanium we only lose a couple hundred, which means we don't have to spend as much time on this rock." Said Candeyrn, to which Melanie nodded, they knew that he was right, in a sense; they couldn't stay on this world for too long, they had to get to the other fleets and unload their cargo before they went over their intended timetable, they had spent nearly a month here already and they had a month and a half before they had to leave for the rendezvous point.

"Alright, we will put it to a vote, whichever choice receive more vote will be our course of action" said Mairne

"All in favour" he looked around and saw eight hands raised – Lucius, Danforth, Mull, Melanie, Montgomery, Vedorthil , Lorkrued – Blademaster of the Frostwolf Clan and leader of the orc forces of the Seventh –, Shakti'Zahn – Shadow Hunter of the Darkspear Tribe and leader of the force on the Garmak –, Lysander, Grizzlow, Huojin – He was the leader of the Horde Panderan within the seventh – and Candeyrn – each of them was understandable, most saw this human as a threat to be removed, while others were more methodical about it, he was disrupting the fleets objective and had to be removed before he complicated it further.

"All opposed" the remaining hands shot up, Mai – The leader of the Tushui Panderan – Shakuni, Manath, Aurrius, Fulgrim, Kallista though they knew that he was a threat and should be killed, they were not here to judge on how this world is meant to work. Mairne accepted that but knew that their lives were no more important than the lives of any other world in the greater dark, but in the end the votes had been cast and those who supported the cause had won out "The assassination will commence immediately, gather whatever data you can on him and send in a kill team, I will leave the team for you to assemble."

Candeyrn nodded his head and accepted the orders; Mairne looked around the table and saw no more business to take care of. "This meeting is adjourned"

The commanders began to file out of the room as he watched them leave he saw Candeyrn speak with Shakti'Zan, Lysander, Danforth and Kallista. He couldn't make out their conversation but Mairne could assume he was asking for permission to have one of their assassins accompany his on the mission, the Marshal may be a man who liked to get his own hands dirty but he knew when to pull his punches and allow others to do it for him. Mairne slowly made his way out of the meeting chamber, he had to return to his chambers and wait for his fellow shaman to contact him, Mojinn had been sent down to the surface to meet with the others scouting parties and give them their next orders when they all arrive. He sighed in relief when he made it back to his chambers; there had been much on his mind, ever since his young apprentice had been having her dreams and visions of the future he had been working hard to make sure that she wasn't discovered too quickly. After all visions from the future are things that are not meant to be taken lightly, as was the nature of her status, ever since he heard her speak about her visions that came to her in her sleep he had been worried about the implications it would bring.

At first he tried to brush it off as simple dreams, but as it went on it showed him that it was anything but, he knew what was happening to her and he knew that in time it would only get harder for her, for to be what she is was a lonely and sad path, one he feared she could not handle. He knew he could help her but when it began there was little he could do to stop it, when the voices started and the changes begin to set in then she would be fully on the path, and when the others learnt of this he had been pressured into training her for the role. But he was reluctant to do so, even though she was an orc and a very strong shaman, her mind was something else entirely, she was meek and shy, these were things that didn't serve a purpose within a shaman. But still they pressed him and he tried his best to hold them off of her, she didn't deserve all the pressure that was being forced on her, for he was something similar and he remembered the long years of loneliness and heartache of being what he was, he couldn't do this to her. She had become almost a daughter to him and he would not abandon her to this path alone, she has had enough strife and pain, he would train her when she was ready and when she needed it, only then would he teach her to become a Spirit Walker.

**South Africa, Johannesburg, 11:13PM**

It was nightfall in Johannesburg, but there was still life out on the streets, people and gunfire could be heard all around, no matter what time it was there was always violence and death, so much that even the assassins that were on the roof of a nearby four story building were disgusted by it. Eight of them stood on the side of the building, their eyes all glued to the mansion across the street, it was there that their targets were located, from what they had gathered on this warlord; he was a paranoid psychopath, who would kill anyone that got in his way. That is why they were tasked with removing him, he along with all of his men in the compound, they were also tasked with finding any information that might show if he has any possible subordinates that could take his place if he should fall or if there were any political figures they could remove alongside him.

Won'jin crouched down and looked at the mansion before him, even though it was run down and a complete mess it was a lot better than most of this town, he could see twenty guards patrolling outside the perimeter, and another thirty on the inside of the compound, but there was no telling on how many were inside the building itself. Each had automatic weapons and were from what he could see competent, they didn't allow for one guard to be out of sight from another, so if they attacked they would have to remove them all at the same time, and since there were eight of them it should be simple, all they needed to do was coordinate their attacks.

Suddenly he felt a presence behind him, he turned and reached for his dagger, he calmed himself when he saw his comrade Zengu appear out of the shadows, taking a knee beside the other troll Zengu observed the mansion before him.

"We need to take out all the guards at once" whispered Zengu, so quiet only Won'jin could hear, both Zengu and Won'jin were almost exactly alike, they were the same age, had the same color hair and shade of fur, and eye color, and they thought alike on almost everything, some people joked that they were almost like brothers. But in truth neither of them were related in any way.

"I know, that shouldn't be the problem, but the bodies, whether we remove them or not they will get suspicious" Won'jin replied, in an equally quiet voice.

"Hmmm, the weapons will be the main problem if push comes to shove; we aren't equipped to stop bullets." He stated

"That won't be a problem" an unfamiliar feminine voice whispered behind them, both whirled on the unknown person, daggers drawn and veering towards the target, but when they turned the woman was not there. Then they felt cold steel on their necks, the person had somehow gotten behind them as they were turning to face where she had been, first she snuck up on them and then she was able to dodge and sneak up on them again. "Calm yourselves, I have come to claim your heads, yet."

She withdrew her daggers from their necks and sheathed them, as did the two trolls; they turned around the see a night elf covered head to toe in black skin tight leather with two blades on her hips and a sword on her back. All they could see were her ears that were allowed to shoot out from her full mask, her entire form seemed to blend in with the darkness and render her almost invisible, even though rogue are trained in the art of stealth she was on a whole other level. She motioned with her hands and the other assassins formed up around her, she looked at the team before her, two trolls, one gnome, three humans, and one forsaken, this was her team.

"The target is located in the north-east section of the mansion, there are from one hundred to one fifty guards on the premises, they all need to be killed." There was a nod from the rogues "Leave no evidence we were here, once the target has been killed retrieve your weapons if you can, also, we have been ordered to collect any useful information or equipment if possible. Once we have everything we demolish the mansion with an explosive, it will be an unfortunate accident."

"Leave no witnesses, even if they are civilian, we cannot allow them to notice out presence, now check your gear we strike in twenty minutes."

With that the Assassins prepared themselves for their mission.

**Soul Society, 12th Division**

"How many signals are detecting?" demanded Mayuri Kurotsuchi, slamming his fist into the table, all around him were his officers and his unranked subordinate, they were all busy working on their computers and processing large amounts of information. But there was one single similarity between these pieces of information, they all pertained to an unknown group of signatures that appeared three weeks ago, that have been moving across the globe killing hollows.

"Twenty five, sir" said one of the researchers, who didn't even have time to look up from his console to address his Taicho directly

"How many unique signatures are within those signals?" Kurotsuchi was referring to the unique energy signatures that appeared from the unknown anomalies, as of late there have been six separate signatures that have popped up in the last three weeks.

"Five sir"

"Sir, we just got another hollow incursion in an area… another signal just appeared on top of It." said a researcher from somewhere in the room, but it was hard to hear over the others who were reporting the same across the board.

"Sir three new signals just appeared in District 2464, were detecting a large hollow group in the area, their being decimated sir."

"Another signal has just appeared; it is moving through District 2546-644, two hollows have been detected and… all the signals just disappeared?"

It was a mad house, they had been tracking dozens of unknown anomalies for over three weeks and they have little to show for it other than information and readouts on their unknown powers and the fact that their decimating the hollow population to a massive degree. Over two thousand hollows had been killed in short of a month, and some of them didn't pass on after they were killed, they seemed to have been destroyed rather than cleansed, and the ones that did cross over, well they were more a danger here than in the world of the living. He remembered a soul that had been discovered in Rukongai that was giving off a unique energy similar to that of one of the anomalies, when they investigated they found him huddled in a corner trying to make sure no one got near him, kept screaming for them to keep away.

When the Shinigami tried to pull him out they were somehow attacked by an unknown flame, it didn't cause any fatalities but they were sent to the fourth division for third degree burns across sixty precent of their bodies. And the man that had done it, all he says he remembered was a bright light and then the feeling of bliss before he awoke in Rukongai, they were able to get a sample of the energy and what they found was staggering.

It was nothing they had ever seen before, the thing was energy that was for certain, but the readings they got off it were impossible to comprehend, it was like they were dealing with a manifestation of something, some of the researchers had said that when they gazed into it they felt happy. Mayuri believed it must have been some sort of ocular hypnotic energy used by the wielder, but that wouldn't explain the burns, and on closer inspection it seemed like it was a complete opposite to Reiatsu, instead of it being a pressure, a heaviness and overwhelming force, it was more at ease, peaceful rather than chaotic, it was truly baffling.

But there were others as well, energy that lingered on the souls after they had been killed as a hollow, including an unknown and very potent energy source that almost rivalled reiatsu in power, from what they could tell it had a very off effect on the souls, it seemed to increase their spiritual pressure by random amounts and also altered their perceptions. Some became violent and crazy while others were more docile and objective and it also seemed to have boosted their intellect by leaps and bounds, in fact a man from the eightieth district seemed to be able to work out advanced mathematics and string theory, and he looked like a meat-head through and through.

But over the last few days they were able to gauge the beings levels of strength and power, though it was only theoretical it was better than nothing, after all these warrior were coming here in force and as of late they have been killing a lot more powerful hollows as of late. In fact last night two were able to take down eighteen hollows and then fight a Minos Grande, a feat that only a lieutenant could hope to perform or maybe a third seat but still, eighteen hollows and a Minos, which definitely meant they were strong.

They had narrowed down at least seventy two separate anomalies, each which fit into six separate energy signature, and from what they can read of their energy when their fighting they are around fifth seat to high level Lieutenant in power. But even so their skill is better than most at those levels, in fact a fifth seat level anomaly fought against ten hollows and came out on top in ninety eight seconds, that was something not even a third seat could do, or a low level lieutenant. So whoever these guys are, their skill out ways their power by a very high degree, and through it all there have been no casualties other than hollows, no human deaths or unknown creatures that have appeared out of nowhere.

"Sir eight hollows have just been killed in district 3213-354; and another six in 3176-435." Said female researcher; Mayuri looked up for a moment, wait the signals were all moving in a singular direction, they were heading towards one place.

"Akon, bring the main screen up!" shouted the Taicho, third seat Akon did as his captain ordered and a moment later the main viewing screen blinked to life with the entire living map appearing on it "Now place all the locations of the unknown anomalies in the last three weeks"

Akon did so and eventually over nine hundred separate dots appeared on the screen, and more pop up every few seconds, all from across the globe, they could see many anomalies in Europe, America, China and Russia, the only place that had not been hit by the anomalies was Japan and the East coast of China and Korea.

"Alter the colours of each of the signatures to the six anomalies" ordered the Taicho, a few minutes later there six separate coloured dots among the six hundred incidents present "Now match each of the dots to another anomaly that shared the same amount of energy and link them together from the first to the latest that share that same signature."

The Lab tech got to work on programming that into their consoles and then making it onto the screen, in those moments Akon looked to his Taicho, in all his years of serving under him he had seen him do many things, and didn't even bat an eye. But when he looked at him now, he could see something he never thought he would see from him, apprehension; he was worried about what was happening, even Akon was worried, and whatever they were fighting could destroy hollows and alter the soul with their power or even destroy them. Soon the researchers had finished the adjustments and then from the first points on the map that started off across the world started to link up with one another, all across the world many different anomalies linked together showing the path these being were taking.

For the first week it seemed that they were going in random directions, as if looking for something, and then they started moving in a singular direction, they travelled from random places across the earth. From Europe to America they all flocked towards one point, no matter the distance they moved forward, moving across large distances quickly without trouble, some going by land and others by sea, but they all had a single point that they were travelling towards. When the last line connected to the last dot all the noise within the twelve division vanished, there were over seventy unknown being across the globe killing hollows, and they were all moving towards Japan.

"Their coming here" Murmured Mayuri, his hand grasping tightly against the metal railing, Akon looked up at the screen in shock, they were coming here, where the coming for them, was this some kind of invasion.

"Sir what are you orders?" Akon questioned; his words low and shaky, he had never before seen so many powerful creatures before, and not even a single division could do as much damage as they did in three short weeks. If they could slaughter than many hollows then there is no telling on what they could do when they arrived here, an entire army could be amassing on Japan's shores and then there could be war.

"Continue to monitor them, I have meeting to call, report to me when they make landfall, and if you detect any more disturbances notify me immediately." Said Mayuri, he took his leave from the twelfth and likely moved to speak with the Head-Captain, Akon looked up at the screen to see the path these being were taking. He watched as all lines flowed towards them and every moment they drew closer, the sound of researcher doing their jobs filled the room again, but Akon watched as more signals began to appear, slowly creeping their way to Japan.

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**There you have it, the first chapter of my new fic, hope you like it, and also I would like some OC for this fic, send them in and I will put them in my story and give full credit to their creators and owners.**

**OC of Gavoon: Novik Hydriras (Human Warrior), all rights reserved**


	3. Arc 1, Chapter 02: Land of the Shinigami

**Hello All my adoring fans, Jimmy here with another Chapter in my newest series United Against the Legion of Flames.  
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**Now as many of you may know i have asked for input for this story, such as characters and certain arcs or time periods that I can crossover with for example on my profile page is a poll that asked which arc of Bleach do you want this story to take place in. As well as any OC you would be willing to offer me to place in this story. and i have received four OC's from from four different guests. I wont reveal much about the Character but i will tell you that they all will be featured as Mains and supporting character in this story as it progresses.  
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**Now I asked for your aid once more in deciding in which arc this story should take place, should it be near the beginning, possibly at the Arrancar Arc or further along, somewhere near the Thousand Year Blood War. Go to my Profile and choose, and if your feeling really up to it send me a PM to state your reason and any OC's your want to be put in this story.  
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**Now on with the reviews.  
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**Leapinglemur: Yes, the first encounter with soul society is something I am trying to consider, should it be a big battle or a small one, ahhhh! its so hard! so many cool ideas running through my head.  
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**Gavoon: You no like Bleach, that to bad, its pretty good, you should take a look, and to answer your question. Soul Society is essentially the afterlife - a form of heaven if you will - but there are subtle differences, instead of it being a beautiful paradise with clouds and angels with harps, its pretty much like Feudal Japan a couple hundred years ago, so that mean three things as soon as you arrive: , **_**The Bible was Wrong, ****Everyone is an Ass Hole, ****The Afterlife Blows**_**_._ -THAT'S GOD DAMN GOOD HAIKU RIGHT THERE- ****and If you die there you disintegrate into particles of energy called Spirit Particles and then sometime later are reborn on earth - losing your personality and memories you had from your previous life -, so basically is a whole bag of LOL'S.  
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**saddas74: Thank you, I do try to stick to character as best I can, otherwise it rob the reader of the character they know, and as for which arc it will be taking place in I have a Poll on my Profile that you can vote on, visit it and cast your votes now. And as Par your suggestion, I am feeling like leaning towards that suggestion you gave me, at first I was a bit wary of going so close to unfamiliar territory, but I feel I can do enough the compensate for that. Thank you for your suggestion and some character to include in the story.  
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**Speaking of which, GET ON WITH IT!**

**Updated: 14/02/2013**

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**United Against the Legion of Flames**

**Chapter 02, Arc 01: Land of the Death Gods**

**South Africa, Johannesburg, 11:30PM**

The streets of Johannesburg were loud with activity; during the day the city was a massive riot of murder and chaos, but at night, it was mostly the same, just a little less intense, the city had been in an uproar for several days now. Ever since the Warlord Eze Okuro had moved his small band of militia into the city there has been nothing but violence, the people of the city were fighting for their lives as the small army began ransacking the outer-lying communities of the city for either potential recruits or for anything that can be stolen. Not even the local authorities or military was willing to antagonise the militia and face the arms of over two hundred of Africa's former soldiers, they were some of the most dangerous army regulars that were once under Africa's military control, but now they were nothing but a gang of murderers and anarchists.

A gang that was now situated in a small mansion in Jonannesburg, they had made it their current base of operation and were currently trying to build up support from the people, which involved them terrorising most and forcing others to follow them lest they be killed. Even though their methods put most under their boots, they had supporters; there was a distinct group in the community that wanted more money and actual jobs for themselves and their families which the companies they worked for did not offer. So it was understandable that many would try and join or support their little revolution against the foreign businesses, for if they were gone they could take over and make the money they wanted, but even with them gone they didn't know that an even more tyrannical person would take their place. Twenty guards were patrolling the front of the mansion's entrance, keeping a look out over the desolate street that was before them, they could hear gun fire in the distance but it was too far away for them to have any concern of a possible attack. There was little for them to do, they knew that no one would dare attack this place, it was their stronghold and no one would be suicidal enough to want to fight over two hundred of this nations former soldiers or risk becoming an enemy of Eze Okuro, but they didn't know that in a few seconds they were all going to be invaded by an elite group of assassins.

A guard suddenly stopped and clasped at his neck, he felt something bite him, his hand touched something metallic and he pulled it free, he held in his hand a small needed that had a small layer of blood on the tip. He could see that there was a small bulb along the shaft which contained a dark green like substance, he could see that the tip of the needle was not only just red but had small blots of green within, he knew then what this was, Poison. As he finished his deduction of the weapon he heard a thud ahead of him, looking up he saw one of his fellow soldiers had fallen to the ground, his body was unmoving, then he saw another man further up begin to step uneasily forward before he too fell to the ground unconscious. Soon the guard's vision became clouded and unfocused, his legs began to shake and his head spin, he swayed back and forth looking for something to keep his balance, his hand fell upon something and he was able to prevent himself from falling forward and onto the ground. But it wasn't making his ability to stand that much easier, he felt his vision swim with different shades of black as he slowly lost consciousness, as he looked up he saw what he was holding on to, a person was standing before him and his hand was using her shoulder as a crutch, he could only make out that she wore black clothing and had glowing eyes. Before he could do anything, she placed her hand on his face and pushed him to the ground, he hit the pavement with a thud and could no longer keep his eyes open and his world faded to black and all feeling left his body.

Gladwyne looked to the unconscious warriors before them, twenty of this country's best? She though, pitiful, she had not expected these men to be taken down so easily with a little bit of sleeping poison, but they were only human, and obviously not anywhere near the best. She looked over to the two humans and forsaken who were busy moving the bodies into positions where they wouldn't be found, while the two trolls, the third human and gnome move on ahead to deal with the soldiers on the other side of the gate, she looked over to the Forsaken and said.

"Get inside and search for your targets, if you find others remove them, and if you are found remove the witnesses" the Forsaken didn't reply, instead she disappeared into the shadows and skulked her way to the mansion, meanwhile the two humans were done moving the bodies.

"Cut the power and meet me behind the mansion, we will cut them off should they try to escape" she ordered, he voice low and only audible to those two warriors before her, they nodded to her and disappeared into the darkness. While Gladwyne looked up to the wall and leapt up to it, she looked over the wall to see seven dispatched guards, they were hidden in a hurried fashion but they were hidden as best as they could have been in these circumstances, it didn't matter though, anyone who would come across them would be killed long before they ever made it to find them.

Zengu waited in the darkness for his prey to pass by, his breathing shallow and movement almost on par with that of a statue; soon he was rewarded with two soldiers walking past his little shadowy corner. Side by side they marched, chatting to one another in their own language and with smokes either in their hands or mouths; he took a quick glance to see where the other militia were positioned and their angle of vision before he decided to strike, satisfied that he would not be seen he made his move. He leapt out behind them and sunk his daggers in the back of their necks, severing the spine from the brain stem and killing them in an instant, they didn't utter a sound other than flesh tearing and droplets of blood hitting the ground, he withdrew his daggers quickly and as they fell forward he sheathed his weapons and grabbed them and pulled them into the darkness to avoid being noticed. Placing them both on the ground he slowly crept towards his next target. Across the small garden he saw one man walking along a hedge get pulled down and never to arise again, likely killed by that Gnome that was running around cutting the tendons in the soldiers legs before cutting their throats before they could cry out.

Across the yard he saw the human female break a man's neck with a barely audible crack before pulling his body into the shrubbery she hit within, but before she hid herself she sent a knife through a man's skull a few feet away from her, who conveniently fell into the bushes as he fell to the ground. Close to half of the guards on the front lawn were dead, and they hadn't even noticed that their numbers were slowly dropping, well it had only been forty eight seconds so they were entitled to at least notice the difference when maybe they're the only poor sod left, but by then he's probably be dead to. As they were killing these men, the Forsaken, Hanna Lancaster, had infiltrated the Mansion and was busy scouting out the interior of the building, avoiding guards with ease and looking for a suitable point to place the explosives and locate their primary target.

Hanna looked down a dim moonlit corridor to see three guards moving her way, she quickly ducked down the hall and planted her back against the wall and moved into the shadows to hide, they passed the corridor and only offered a glanced down it before continuing on their patrol. As they passed the hallway Hanna reappeared and moved up to the juncture to watch as they moved down the opposite direction from whence they came, she was bloody happy that the light were out, if they weren't she would be hiding a lot of bodies. That wasn't her mission, she was to locate and kill three specific targets, they were Eze's lieutenants, each of whom could not be left alive, she was to find them and remove them before the rest infiltrated the mansion so that if they tried to escape there no risk of the command chain remaining should some succeed. If only a few grunts survive then there was no problem, they wouldn't have any connections that could offer them protection and wouldn't have any resources that could get this militia back up off the ground should something happen to it. Moving down the hallway she silently searched the different rooms looking for anything that pertained to their objective, but most of the rooms had nothing to offer aside from sleeping quarters to empty rooms. She stopped as she heard footsteps coming her way, she made out six separate people moving in her direction, one coming from ahead and another form down the corridor she approached from, she could see one move around the corner and she immediately hid from view.

As the guards moved around the corner they saw another patrol coming towards them on the other side of the hallway, they jerked their heads at them and said a few welcomes, but stopped when they saw a door opened slightly, most would think nothing of it. But they were trained soldiers who knew not to take any risks, especially when there could be people trying to sneak into their stronghold, slowly one reach for the door while two positioned themselves in front of the door and two others on the right hand side and one behind the one opening the door. He pushed the door open and then returned his grip to his weapon, when it opened both his and the closest man on the right hands side entered the room and stuck to the walls looking for anyone who may be hiding inside. Then the other two followed in and took up positions next to them and scanned the room, next the two who were facing towards the door stepped in and stood at the end of the other two, forming semi-circle around the door. When the entered they saw no one inside, all there was found was a small storage room filled with a few boxes of ammo and weapons, it was one of the spare rooms where they would store their weapons without care.

The flash lights on their guns panned the room looking for anything that would not belong, but they found nothing, there was only what was meant to be there, even most of them highly doubted that anyone would come in here, after all two hundred men with guns was a deterrent. But with the way their leader was they couldn't risk it, if they found a person snooping around their place and didn't finds him because they decided they didn't want to check because it was an open door they were all dead men, their warlord may be paranoid but he was also ruthless. Kept saying people were here to kill him, and because of the power outage it only added to his paranoia, they continued to search the room and found nothing, it was most likely just some idiot who forgot to close the door, that's what they all thought, but as they were about the leave something landed behind them without alerted the six men around her. Raising her daggers she sunk them into the necks of the two furthest from the door before pulling them free, the two to her left turned first as they saw one sway in their direction as he fell, they turned to face the attack and she swung her daggers at them, cutting through their jugular's like it was paper, before she rounded on the other two who had just caught wind and ended them in a similar manner. They all hit the ground in a sequence, like a heartbeat – _thump, thump… thump, thump… thump, thump_ – before it came to an abrupt end, that is how she liked it, turning towards the door she exited out and closed it behind her, they wouldn't be found anytime soon that was for sure.

When she was about to leave she halted herself, she heard the faintest sound down the corridor, she turned down an adjacent hallway and went to find the source of the noise, she avoided several patrols in her search and eventually found the source of the noise, it was frantic yelling. She looked out around the corner to see a hallway leading to a set of doors which then led to an indoor balcony, she slowly went towards the door and peeked inside, and she saw no one on the terrace and cautiously stepped through. Another angry yell from someone nearby forced her to dive behind a small support, she didn't hear any bullets go flying or people running around looking for her, she slowly peeked around the pillar and looked down at the ground floor, she saw a large open area with a tiled floor and several lamps illuminating the entire floor. Hanna looked down to see nine people down on the bottom floor, four of them were being yelled at by one man and four others standing just a few feet away from him, conversing with one another.

The two speaking with one another and the one yelling at the troops wore distinct uniforms that differentiated them from the other soldiers, they were likely officers, she was able to make out their faces and saw that all three officers were her targets. They matched their physical descriptions and had the uniforms to further support who they were, she smiled to herself, she thought she was going to have to search through this entire mansion to look for those mongrels, but they were all here in one room, it was like a Winter's Veil Day and she had been given a present from Great Father Winter. She watched as the man speaking with the troops lead the five out of the room, smashing the doors open and walking through, leaving only four men in the room, her two targets and likely their body guards, more like an extra helping in her case. She licked her dried lips and pulled out her two daggers, her metal hissing as it was pulled free from her leather sheaths, she rose from her crouch and moved back to the adjacent wall, she got into a running stance and then took off running. When she was close she leapt up onto the railing and used it to give her that extra boost and flew through the air before descending to the ground, daggers in hand, target below her, and a smile on her face.

Gladwyne dashed behind a tree before she was seen, she looked up to the large car garage and the occupants inside, next to her appeared the two human rogues Garial and Jerief, they were scouting around looking for any place where they could try to escape, and they found the garage which was bustling with some activity. Seven militiaman were playing cards with one another and having a laugh near an overhead lantern, how ignorant they were that their buddies were being killed and how they would soon join them, they were either stupid or to lax to think that a black out was not intentional. She drew a few throwing knifes from her back pouch, she quickly dashed over to a side of the garages, she peeked around the corner to see the seven of them sitting in a circle around the table, she memorised their positions and prepared to throw the knives. On the other side of the garage entrance were the other two, knives drawn and ready to be used should her own throwing knife not kill them, but their presence was not needed when Gladwyne was performing an assassination, she wasn't the best in the fleet for nothing. Twelve knives were held between her fingers nimbly and with them all she could kill the guard with ease and some even twice over, she could have used only seven but she wanted to make sure, she stepped around the side and into view, before the seven occupants could even acknowledged her presence they were dead. Twelve daggers flew through the air and struck them all, for those who did not have a hope to see it coming were struck in the back of the neck, severing the spine from the brain instantly, while those who did were struck either in the side of the neck or throat, and for extra measure five others were shot through the heart.

Seven corpses slumped down in their chairs, one or more blades sunk deep in their flesh, the two humans bolted around the corner, their own throwing knives in hand ready to use them if needed, but they were unneeded, they placed them back in their holsters and waited for orders.

"Disable the vehicles" Gladwyne stated plainly, they followed it obediently, they moved to the cars in the back, two black Subaru's and a Camry, they opened the bonnets and proceeded to cut the fuel lines and break the battery connectors.

All the while Gladwyne had leisurely retrieved her weapons, ripping them free from her victims neck or chest with no apparent discomfort in how they were killed, she was an assassins as there was no room for emotion when killing the enemy, she was a tool to be used by others for this sole purpose. When she was finished so too were the humans, they approached and she turned to the door likely leading into the mansion, she motioned with her finger and they rushed to door, both on either side waiting for the her to give the order. She stood in front of the door and with three bloodies blades in her hand she motioned for them to open the door, Garial grabbed the door and pulled it back, she looked down the dark hallway and saw nothing, she took a deep breath and stepped through. As she stepped into the hallway she was followed by the two human assassins, following closely behind, but maintaining a safe distance should one of them be attacked, then she stopped suddenly, holding up her hand to halt the two behind her. Her acute hearing heard the sound of retreating footsteps in two different directions, he looked down the adjacent corridor and saw a patrol moving away from her, and her sense could pick up that further down the hallway and around another corridor was another patrol. Seeing as the militia were all going to die anyway it was probably better to kill any they come across rather than risk them surviving and catching wind of their operation, she motioned for Garial and Jerief to deal with the ones up at the next corridor over while she dealt with the three retreating down this one. They nodded before lurking down the hallway, she looked around the corner to see them turning down the left corridor, she quickly and silently followed after them, her steps as silent as a feather hitting the ground, when she reached the corner she peeked around the bend, and they were only a few feet away from her.

She walked up behind them and when she was behind the farthest of the two, she struck, placed her dagger over his throat she cut it open with a quick swipe, he gurgled on his blood before he fell to the floor clasping onto his neck. The other turned to his collapsing friend and was met with a blade across his neck, and like his comrade choked on his own blood as he tried to scream out a warning, the third and final man turned as he heard the sound of the other two choking and falling to the floor and saw only a blur of motion before a knife went through his throat. His last sight were the glowing eyes of his killer, his eyes went grey and he was dead, she pulled her blade free and he fell to the ground like the others before him, she shook her blades to remove the excess blood as she waited for the others. A few seconds later and they were standing behind her, their own weapons covered in fresh blood, she didn't say anything, when they appeared she moved forward and they followed closely behind, they weren't in this for praise, they were here because their commanders needed someone dead and they were going to grant their wish.

Eze Okuro sat in his personal chambers brooding, he had been like this for many days now, even though he was a highly trained soldier and military commander he was scared, ever since he took up arms and went AWOL he has had to worry about keeping his former comrades from pursuing him. Though they feared him for the moment he knew that if he didn't try and increase his standing and power he was going to be targeted, he needed to make them understand that they couldn't face him without there being consequences, which is why he had been terrorising the city. Looking for those who would join him and to make sure that no one doubted his strength and ability to use it, but he was becoming paranoid, he felt as if someone was watching him and waiting for the opportune time to strike, at first he thought it was his own officers that were planning to usurp him. Because of that fear he had one killed that he thought was insubordinate, he could not allow those types of people in his army, he demand respect and loyalty from his men and the people for what he is trying to accomplish, by driving away the foreign powers he is giving the African people a chance to build a nation of their own. One not built on foreign laws and corporations looking to control and subverts this country out of its resources and money; he would drive them away and usher in a new beginning for these people. One where he is in charge and one where he ensures no one interferes with his rule, but his thoughts were elsewhere, he had lost power to the Mansion again, he was afraid, what if this was an attack, soon he would hear the sound of gun fire at the gates and his men being cut down by other soldiers, or possibly his own.

He had called for his guard to patrol the mansion and look for any intruders, it had been twenty minutes now and he had heard nothing from his men, even though there was not an immediate attack he knew that it could come at any moment. He knew that the attacks on the different companies would get a result; he knew they would flee after he killed some of their workers, but he also knew that apart from them leaving they would try and protect their interest in this country if it was threatened, mercenaries and assassins would be sent in to kill him. When they failed he would continue the attacks and make them understand that they couldn't go against him without facing serious consequences, his attention was drawn away from his thoughts and to the door as he heard a thump outside, his heart stopped for a moment as he stared as the faded mahogany doors. His worst fears of what lay on the other side gnawing at him, there were assassins on the other side and his men were dead, his hand went under his desk and he pulled out the revolver he had strapped to the underside of the table. He slowly stood and went around his table and approached the door, making sure he made no sound as he took each step, he stood by the side of the double doorway and reached for the handle, his heart beating heavy in his chest and his brow became furrowed and sweaty. He grabbed hold of the handle and pulled the door back, his heart feeling as if it was about to break out of his chest, he peeked out to see his guard standing at attention beside the door facing down the only hallway leading to his room, he looked at them for a moment before shutting the door, relieves that what he happened had not.

But unbeknownst to him his two guards were currently no longer alive, the first guard had a long gash across his neck – just out of sight enough for Eze not to notice – and one knife through his shoulder and into the wall, which is why he had not fallen to the ground when he was killed, the other man was in a similar circumstance, but his throat had been cut open and obscured by his shirt collar. Above the door was their killer, a woman completely covered head-to-toe in dark leather with two knifes held in her hands, she looked down at the door and with no apathy in her glowing blue eyes she leapt down silently and opened the door, inside she saw the retreating form of her target, she closed the door behind her and moved up behind him. She was as silent as the grave; he would never know what hit him, she stood behind him and as she moved to open up his jugular she saw him stop and whirl around, he raised his gun looking for what he thought was an assassin, he didn't know why but he felt he needed to turn around. When he did he came face to face with… nothing, there was only an empty room before him, the door closed with nothing between him and it, he looked to the left and right to see nothing and he breathed a sigh of relief as he turned back to his desk. When he did he saw a single person standing in front of him, he could not see anything aside for the glowing eyes of the leather clad woman, he was so shocked that it took him several seconds to realise that she was here to kill him.

He raised his weapon to shoot but as he pointed it he felt a sharp pain flow up his arms, as his arm aimed itself at her he saw that his hand and gun did not follow, his hand had been severed just below the wrist, he wanted to scream but when his mouth was filled with his own blood he could only gurgle. With a quick swing of her dagger she had cut open his jugular, he clung to his throat with his only hand and tried to stop the bleeding and try to save himself from his impending death, he lay there on his 'hand' and knees slowly dying and his vision fade, the last thing he saw was seven other walk into the room, he could make out very little of them before his vision turned black.

Gladwyne looked to the seven others, each was covered in blood – some more than others and in more places than one, it would seem the forsaken seemed like a biter –, she looked towards them and asked.

"Are they all dead?" there were seven nods from the assassins before her.

"Has the bomb been placed?" she directed her question to the Gnome this time.

"Yes, it will blow up part of this block, there will be minimal casualties from the civilian population" said Gwoddry

"Plant the hearthstones, we leave in ten minutes" she said, after their mission was finished they were to collect any relevant information on the target and make sure there were no others connected to him that could keep his operation going or if there were political figures support his actions. That is where the information comes in; they would take the notes and the weapons he had, both for the technology and for the extortion material that can be used to remove and supporters to Eze's cause from their offices if they cause any problems. Killing them would rouse to much suspicion and they only wanted their interested protected while they are here, if they get in the way then they will be removed, whether it be by their blades or by this world own methods.

When they were done she looked to the gnome who had a small device in his hand with a big red button in the middle, she knew it was the detonator for the bomb they had placed under the block that would set off a small chain reaction that would level the mansion and the surrounding area. It would be said it was a tragic accident that claimed the lives of a few dozen citizens and over two hundred militia, she grabbed her hearth stone and eventually the cabinets and the weapons were being transported away and onto the Garmak. Soon each of the assassins departed just as Gwoddry pressed the button, as he activated his hearthstone and Gladwyne did hers the room shook and was engulfed in a large explosion that tore the entire mansion apart and destroy any evidence that they were ever there.

* * *

_One Day Later_

**Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, Fifteen Miles from Meeting point**

Three and a half weeks of travel that is how long it took Draga to reach this island off the coast of China, three and a half weeks of running, hiding and fighting to get here, and the closer she came the more she had to do the latter of the three. In fact when Draga landed on the island she was almost immediately attacked by four of those white skinned creatures, which she discovered were actually souls of the departed that somehow became ravenous monsters with a thirsting for living souls, she had no idea how this could have happened. From what she could sense from them the fel energy that they had sensed three weeks ago was very similar to these creatures, almost like it somehow corrupted the spirits and made them go insane and cannibalise the souls that hadn't turned, it was odd that the demonic energy had such a reaction on the souls.

But it was not surprising, she had heard of elementals being corrupted by similar means and spirits become trapped and driven mad by dark magic, this was known in Outland and several locations across Azeroth, so whatever this energy was it was corrupting the mortal plane bound spirits before they could cross over. But these creatures were different from the usual run of the mill corrupted spirits she had come across, they were large nearly twenty feet tall, all of them had a white mask with an elongated nose, their bodies were covered from their head to their feet with a black covering like a cloak. When she looked at them she could feel dozens if not hundreds of souls within its form, yet it didn't possess any form of consciousness, it was like a mindless animal that's only purpose was to kill and devour anything around it, even its own kind, she was having a hard time with these beast, she was able to incinerate one and wound two others but she was having a hard time fighting them all at once.

When she was about to be struck by one of the creature strange abilities – a massive red ball of energy that formed at its mouth, she could feel the oppressing forces of the attack try to crush her before it was fired - she was miraculously saved by the intervention a paladin, she intercepted the attack with her shield and ability called **'Shield of the Righteous'**, saving both their lives. When it passed a small trench formed behind them, showing off the amount of power these creatures possess, when the Paladin arrived they didn't greet each other in a sense, they simply nodded to one another and took off to kill the beasts. Draga send a chain of lightning towards the one that had attacker her, which when struck buckled under the electricity that was coursing through its form, and when it was on its knees she struck the final blow, her Axe was drenched in lava as she channelled both the power of earth and the fire into her weapon. While beneath her she channelled a wind current and when she was ready she leapt from the ground and towards the giant white masked beast, she flew at it with a tornado behind her and a flaming axe in her hand, she drew it back and with a roar she swung forward.

"**Lava Lash!**" she cried, the weapon did not cut deep into the mask, but it didn't need to, the lava that followed made easy work of the beast afterwards, its face and body slowly melting away under the molten liquid. It fell to the ground and she could feel the souls within begin the dissipate into nothing as they travelled from this world to the next, with that knowledge she was happy that she had at least freed them from their torment and given them peace.

She drifted to the ground and saw not too far away the paladin was making quick work of her own enemy, she engulfed it in flames which burnt away its form slowly; as it did she brought up her hand and began chanting. Eventually a long shaft of light appeared in her hand, it soon took the form of a spear; it burned with holy energy as she continued her chant, soon she pulled it back and tossed it towards the writhing creature, it soured through the air leaving a trail of golden fire as it did. When it struck the mask of the beast it exploded, a bright light blinded Draga, forcing her to cover her eyes as to block out the intensity in which it shone; when she turned back she saw only ash remain.

Then the final beast remained, its form hunched over and several wounds covered its cloaked body, its cracked mask leered at the two woman in front of it, though it had no discernible intelligence they could both see that it was quite enraged at the beating it had been given. Draga and the Paladin raised their hands forward and began their chants.

"I call to the fire of this land, lend me your power so that I may cleanse this creature of the corruption that assails It." said Draga, her call to the elements echoing lightly as she chanted.

"Surrender to the light of the virtuous, feel its warmth as it welcomes you or feels its burn when it obliterates you" said the unnamed paladin.

As one they shouted their spells.

"**Flame Shock!** /**Holy Shock!**"

When both were uttered the spells struck the giant creature before them, its body convulsed as both elemental fire and holy flame weaved across its body and consumed its form, its cried of pain were a testament to the power behind the two spells. Draga looked on its black mass soon turned to ash and its mask disintegrated into nothing, when it was over there was nothing but a pile of ash and lingering flames that burnt away both what remained of the body and the corruption that formed it. Satisfied that their work was done and there were no more enemies around the two woman decided to introduce one another, the paladin turned towards the orcess and closed the short gab between the two, now that they were no longer in battle Draga could take a better look at the woman in front of her, soon they were face to face with each other and the Paladin extended her hand in greeting.

"Hi there, names Carmila Ranford, Paladin of the Argent Crusade" she greeted politely with a smile – She was a young warrior, maybe twenty three, she had long auburn hair that was tied into a ponytail which went down past her shoulders, but left two strand to fall over her face and frame it. Her face was slender and pale, she did not where the armour of the Argent Crusade, instead she wore more inconspicuous cloths, she wore a blue denim jeans and a white jacket over a plain black shirt with the symbol of the crusade encrusted over her left breast – Draga took the hand and gave it a good shake.

"Draga Wolfheart, Shaman of the Earthen Ring" replied Draga, a little less buoyant than how the Paladin had spoken, she rarely spoke to anyone she had never known and was, for better use of a word, shy.

"A pleasure to meet you" Carmila said, as she did she was busy placing her sword – a three foot long and two inch wide blade with a simple leather bound handle and no cross guard – inter her purse and let her shield – a large piece of segmented metal that had the ability to fold in on itself should the need be required, both easy the hide and quick to use – folded over her forearm and locked into place, even though her blade was over three feet in length the magical bag was enchanted to allow her to place large quantities of items and materials with little difficulty, no matter the size or weight. "So you're here for the mission?"

"Yes, do you know how many of us will be taking part in this?" Draga asked; Carmila shook her head.

"Sorry, no idea, but from what I know there are a few of us here, I can feel the presence of some others nearby." She replied, she then began rummaging through her bag and pulled out a small device, she pressed it and it came to life, a bright blue light illuminated her face and she began tapping on the screen like it was some sort of piano.

Draga didn't use the devices of the world, she was more comfortable using magical objects rather than technology, many in the earthen ring believed that technology can bring out the worst in a culture and its people, the goblins were a great example of that and in some cases the gnomes and dwarves. So when they came to this world to see how it was they were very adamant in not allow too much of the technology to be integrated into the fleet, they suggested that the technology be reversed engineered to a level more suited to them rather than take it and use it. Eventually she heard the device in Carmila's hand start beeping and then did a ninety degree turn, looking up to a large hill in the distance that was covered in tree and bush.

"Looks like the meeting place is a few miles from here" she said, likely looking to where the meeting was likely to be held, Carmila pocketed the device and turned to Draga "Well let's not waist anymore time, we got to get there before they decide to start without us."

With that they both took off, jogging towards where they were scheduled to meet up with the others, they would reach it in a few hours, if they didn't come across anything that would slow them down. Sadly they did, more of the black cloth behemoths appeared along with the smaller white masked creatures, but even they were starting to grow in size, they came in sizes from a horse to a full grown dragon, but with both their abilities they could fight them off. But luckily they were not fighting alone, as they neared the rendezvous point they found more people, Mages, Warlock, Druids, Priests, Paladins and Shamans, they were a small fighting force, holding off dozens of the creatures and with ease, it didn't matter their size, they were still nowhere near as dead as a drake.

When they were done over thirty creatures of various sizes and multiple pieces littered the clearing, which had been made in the ensuing battle and the wounded were being treated by the healers while the other kept guard over them should more creatures show up, but it would be a gross misconception to call the injured actually wounded. At most they had a few cuts and lacerations that could be fixed with a bit of Windwool bandaging, sadly they didn't have any on hand and had to get the healers to patch them up before they left, and luckily they didn't suffer any casualties during the entire ordeal. Draga looked around and took in the group around her; seventeen people were currently making up their little group, each and every one of them was highly skilled, they could take on one of those behemoths alone or a few of the smaller ones single handily, these people were more than just actual soldiers, they were some of the best the fleet could offer.

"That's the fifth attack in the last hour" called out Kahgrul; he was an orc Shaman and a fellow member of the Earthen Ring, he pulled out his claw from the dead beast before him and watched as it slowly disintegrated into nothing.

"Yeah, but the weird thing is they keep coming, if these things are spirits then why are there so many, shouldn't have most of them cross over by now" asked Aldarin, he was a Blood elf Warmage; he wore simple cloths, long pants and a hoodies, as well as sunglasses to hide his naturally glowing eyes and elven ears.

"It doesn't matter, we have to get to the rendezvous" said Ahre, she was a Tauren Druid of the Cenarian Circle, but she wore the traditional cloth of the order, she travelled mostly by flight form or by animal form, never revealing her true appearance.

Soon the wounded were healed and they took off towards their meeting point, these creatures were slowing them down and the longer a group such as them stays in a location to long, they are bound to draw some attention, either more of these creatures or the humans. They took off in a job, running through the light forested area towards where their meeting was to take place, all the while fending off whatever came their way, leaving behind many corpses of the creatures as they moved further inland.

Soon they arrived at their destination, a large factory a few miles outside the nearest town, it was a large rusting metal heap that appeared to have not been in use for many years, only a few broken down trucks and now rusting piles of sheet metal showed this place use to either produce or ship it out. They advanced slowly, even though this is the exact spot where they were to meet they didn't want to be attacked by something that might already be here, as they moved through the barren clearance between the trees and factory they were halted by three figures. Out of the shadows of nothing appeared three men, the first wore a long grey trench coat that flowed down to his ankles; under it was a simple plain white button up shirt and jeans, and on his chest they could see he carried two flintlock pistol secured in two holsters. He wore a wide brimmed hat that his most of his face from view, but they could make out his van dyke beard and his black hair that flowed down and past his shoulder, leaving two small strands of hair to flow down over the front of his shoulders.

The two others were dressed in traditional leather armour consistent with rouges, tight black leather held together by straps and bindings that allowed easy movement and mobility and adequate protection from slicing attacks, as well as the many blades that covered the many belts over their bodies.

"Good, looks like the last of you are here" said the man in the trench coat, his voice was low and emotionless, but it carried an almost animalistic growl to it, he raised his head to looked at them and pit his hands in his pockets. As he did they got to see at his side were his two weapons, a long gold and wooden sabre in a similar sheath as his hip and a dagger of red and black on his other side, definitely implying that the man before them was a rogue. "Get inside the meeting is going to start soon."

The seventeen of them entered through the large doorway into a wide open area, it looked like this place once functioned as nothing more than a small manufacturing shed or possible a storage area, but now it was nearly completely empty save for several large crates here and there and some old machinery. Ahead of them they could see maybe seventy people sitting around and chatting to one another about what was going on and why they were here, Draga could see warriors from nearly every single faction speaking with one another. Orcs with humans, Blood elves with night elves, Gnomes and Trolls, it would appear like this was some sort of party, most of them were wearing disguises – which was just standard clothing of this world – while others such as the shamans and druids were clothed in their normal garb. It was odd to see the groups working in such close confines with one another, even though there was still some bad blood between the different races they had learned to put it past themselves and think of the whole before getting into any disputes over past events.

As they approached they were greeted by them and made welcome, handshakes and pats on the back from friends or fellow companions of occupation, Draga spoke with several of the people that she was affiliated with in the Earthen Ring, most of which knew her by her master. As the greetings and talking died down their attention was drawn to a troll sitting on top of a broken down piece of machinery, he leapt down from dust covered piece of metal and walked over to the middle of the group where a small fire had been set up. He turned to a group of gnomes off to the side and motioned them with a jerk of his neck; they must have known what he was talking about because they went off immediately to do whatever it was they were supposed to. He turned back to the crowd and began to speak.

"It's a good dat ya made it here on time" he said, his voice carrying the same accent that was carried by any troll "Meself be named Mojin Windchaser"

There were some shocked faces in the room, for those who didn't recognise him at first were shocked they didn't do so earlier, Mojin was a very powerful shaman of the Earthen Ring, he was one of the very few within the fleet who possessed the ability to use the ancient Shaman art of Ascension. True Draga has been trained in the art by her master, Mairne, who himself can use Ascension to an even rarer degree than most Shaman's, but this man before her is known as the Windchaser because of his unique Ascension affinity and form. Of all the people in this room he is likely the strongest of them all, even without that ancient ability he is still a very powerful shaman, one who is within the upper ranks of the Earthen Ring, in a few years he could become a High Shaman and maybe even join the Elder Council.

His short fur was a light blue in colour, as was all troll who belonged to the Darkspear tribe, he had long untamed green hair that shot up high defying gravity with every inch, his two mammoth tusk were almost as long as his ears as they jutted forward, likely to gore someone if Mojin decided to rush an enemy or they him. He wore the robes of a shaman, which were both leather and metal, he wore chain male over his chest and arms, which was padded with a small form fitting metal chest piece, his arms and legs were covered in metal plating on his wrists, hands, knees, shins, and shoulders, while a tabard covered his chest piece with the symbol of the Earthen Ring emblazed on it.

"Now den, as many of ya know, dere be a demonic signature dat be present on this island" he continued, he looked around the people before him and observed them all as they took in the information "Our mission, be to search every single town, village and city on dis island until we find dat source."

"But before we begin dere be someone who wanna talk to ya" he turned to the two gnomes who were wheeling in a large mirror, for most they didn't understand the importance of the mirror it was a simple oval shaped mirror. But to a select few they knew its true importance; it was a two way communication mirror that connected to an exact copy of itself to allow one to communicate with the other over large distances.

Soon the mirror turned black and then spiralled into the image of Mairne Ragetotem, several people were so shocked by the sudden appearance of the Supreme Commander that they tried to salute him out of respect, but Mairne smiled and allowed them to be at ease with a wave of his hand. Even though he was a Tauren many in the Alliance respected him, he was a fair and just man, he had led them into battle many times and when it came to more casual circumstances he was less of a superior officer and more of a Shaman who would be glad to help in any way he could. That is why some of the different groups within the fleet often went to him for advice or suggestions that could help them with a problem that was affecting them or their work, although sadly for Draga he was not able to help her when she needed it, he would always keep her at a distance.

"It is good to see so many warriors from different divisions working alongside one another, it is good to know that when you are to do your duty you will put aside petty rivalries and hatreds to do what must be done." He praised, some of the people were happy to be shown such respect from the High Shaman, most of them had never met the man personnel or beyond the role of soldier and commander but they knew when he spoke he didn't say something just because he could.

"As many of you know: three weeks ago there was a massive release of demonic energy on the island you currently occupy right now" several people were nervous about being in a possible danger zone where demons and other creatures of the nether could be lurking around, they shouldn't be taken lightly especially when fighting in large numbers. "It has been left to us now to search for that disturbance; we cannot locate the direct source of the energy, so we much look for it with our eyes and senses."

"Each and every one of you are some of the best this fleet has to offer, many of you are young recruits who show great potential and skill in your craft, others are veterans of many battles, it matters not who is greater than the other, you are here to find where this demonic energy originates from and stop it if you can."

"But I will not allow you to fight this battle alone, the other commanders were kind enough to send you aid in this fight" he said, and as he did two portals opened on either side of the mirror, soon two figures stepped out and made themselves known. On the left was a man covered in plain clothing, he wore dark blue jeans and a leather jacket over a black T-shirt with the symbol of the Knights of the Ebon Blade; he had long untamed hair and dark sunglasses to hide his glowing eyes on his grimacing face. On the right stepped out another human, he wore baggy grey pants and a short sleeved jacket over a tank top, on his head was a conical hat, a necklace with symbol of the monk hung around his neck, past them both they could see many others were coming out through the portals and dressed in similar attire.

"The Knights of the Ebon Blade and the Shang Xi Monks have seen fit to offer you some of their warriors in your search." Mairne said, as twenty Death Knights stood to the left of the mirror and eighteen Monks stood on the right, some people were surprised that the Death Knights would want to come on a scouting mission with them, their more shock troopers rather than a recognisance force.

"I leave them in your care Mojin" said Mairne, directing his attention to the Troll shaman before back to the rest of them "And I bid you all farewell and good luck."

The mirror turned into a swirling dark before returning into a simple reflection, the people looked on for a moment at the mirror and those beside it, then Mojin took charge of the meeting and began filling them in on their order and their mission.

"Alright, I want ya all in groups of eight, and I don' wan' ya all stickin' wit' your own kind, mix it up a little." He said, soon enough everyone was getting into groups, most of them followed the shamans orders and had groups consisting of people from each of the factions. Draga was pulled into a group with Carmila; eventually she stood before four other people, a Night elf Druid, a Human Death Knight, another Human but a Monk, and a Blood Elf Mage, she looked around to see that there were no other people available for their group, it looked like they would likely be only a six person team on this mission. She looked at them and tried to discern the people she would be working with, she already knew about Carmila, she was nice and carefree, from what she could tell from the Druid she a strong and hard individual based on her stoic features and posture, she stood proud and tall and didn't falter no matter the circumstance.

"So, it looks like I'm stuck with you guys" said the Death Knight, she appeared to be a laidback person and even though her words were cold and were like steel, her tone showed she was quite bored, Carmila stared at her with a gaze that mimic the death knight own mood.

"Well if you have a problem, deal with it, it's not like being in any other group is going to make your life any more interesting." Said Carmila, her tone plain as she spoke to the Death Knight

"True, but still I would rather be killing something than just going around one city at a time looking for a needle in a haystack." She replied, her echoing words still carrying that bored tone Draga guessed she was likely known for. "You got a name Paladin?"

"Carmila Ranford" replied the Paladin

"Morgana Runecaller" replied the Death Knight

"I've heard of you, they say you have a nickname within the Ebon Blade, I believe it was called 'The Sword Dancer'" asked the Blood Elf Magi.

"Yes, that is my runic name actually; each veteran Death Knight has one, and if you're lucky you get to see why I'm called that" she said, a sadistic smile gracing her features, Draga was a little disturbed by it, which was probably noticed by Morgana as she took a jab at her. "What's wrong little girl, afraid of little ol' me."

She took a step forward to the orc shaman with a mad smile on her face, Draga took an unconscious step back as she approached, she wasn't afraid of her she was just nervous around new people, and with the way the death knight was moving towards her she was slightly worried something might happen. But it stopped when a firm hand came down on the Death Knights shoulder, Morgana turned around to see who it was and found Mojin standing there, the Shaman's hard eyes boring into her own giving her a silent message as to not bully the orcess. He turned his attention away from her and onto the rest of the group, he saw only six and knew he had to pick up the slack; he motioned with his hand to a man off to the side to what appeared to be nothing, then a moment later a man appeared from the shadows, the same man that had greeted them when they first arrives.

"Dis is Augustine, he's one of da finest rogues in da fleet, and he will be travelin' wit' ya to pick up da slack, as will meself" said Mojin, earning some surprised reactions from the rest of the group, they didn't expect him to be travelling with the groups, let alone theirs.

"Alright, listen up!" Mojin called out "Each of ya will be travelin' from here to specific towns across the country, we be goin' from one side to da other. Ya will be given a list of villages that ya going to travel to, ya will stay only as long as ya can determine if dere be no demonic influence in the province."

"Ya will be given maps, they will tell ya were da go" he finished; he then pointed to a stack of paper on the desk, likely the maps which will allow them to travel from one village to another with ease. For the next few minutes the teams started to get to know who they would be working with and also acquiring their maps to see where they would be going.

"Looks like we're going to Tokyo later on" said Elyssire Nightstrider, the female druid, she was very hands on type of person and no nonsense, but she tried to be at least friendly to those she worked with, and tried to give moral support to Draga when she was feeling a little nervous around Morgana.

"That doesn't sound too bad; we're likely going to be stuck in the city for a bit searching, then we can have a bit of a vacation." Said Raralas Arcanum, he was the Blood Elf Magi, more correctly a Battle-Mage, he wore simple baggy pants and hoody with sunglasses, on his back was his sword, a long single handed blade which was hidden on the side of his backpack and his staff which was tucked in on the other side of his pack.

"Don't get your hopes up, we will likely be passing through there quickly, I'm doubtful the legion would set up a forge camp so close to a populated city such as Tokyo" Said Carmila Ranford, destroying the blood elves hopes of a relaxing time in the bustling city, after three weeks of moving around to get to this place.

"Yeah and the sooner this is over the better, I just want to get back to the Crypt Vault on the Garmak"

"You mean that dark creepy little catacomb where you Death Knights congregate?" said Carmila; with a laugh she continued "No wonder you guys are so moody and glum, your living in a place more fitting to be the Garmak's sewer system "

"Shut up Paladin, at least were not a bunch of girls and tomboys that twinkle their fingers and preach about love and happiness." Retorted back Morgana, she even wiggled her fingers around and smirked at the Paladins reaction to being called a tomboy, which was picked up from this world slang, something about woman acting like men or something like that.

"Tomboy huh, well how about I show you how right you are!" she challenged, cracking her knuckles and approaching the death knight, who in turn did the same.

"Oh come here, I'll give you the death knight's version of retribution!"

"Are they always like this?" asked Augustine, from what Draga could tell he was a quiet man, usually he would just hang back until the situation called for him to act and then he would speak, but usually in a few words. His question directed towards Draga, who was trying to calm down Carmila, while the others watched on as they stood in front of one another waiting for one of them to deal the first blow.

"Sadly I have only known her for a few hours, but she does have a temper." Replied a defeated Draga, she knew that she wouldn't be able to stop a confrontation between the two; all she could do was let it run its course.

But before they could start their little brawl there was a small quake that stopped them, it lasted only a moment before it disappeared, then another one followed after, soon a third could be heard, the one hundred and forty warriors in the factory knew it wasn't normal. They drew their weapons and readied themselves, Draga drew out her axe and shield, but attached her claw to her wrists readying herself for what is likely to be a battle, it was then that she sense it, she sensed the presences of more of those large dark cloaked creatures, a lot more and even more of those other things.

"Get outside now!" ordered Mojin, he charged to the door, his hands gripping two axes which shone a faint eerie red. The axes were identical to a degree aside from the head of the axes, they each had a half a metre long handle and shaft, which was composed entirely of bone, the creatures in which they were made from are not known to anyone but the wielder, the silver axe head was a crescent in shape aside from the longer bottom which made the head half as long as the shaft it was attached to. The other axe was similar to the first, a metre long shaft and a crescent blade with an extended bottom, but both had different runes emblazed along the shaft and the blades surface, which glowed in two different shades of red and had the imagery that was carved into the blade, one was a lynx and the other a jaguar. They didn't know the importance of those imagery or the ancient troll symbols that were emblazed on the weapons but the names of them were said to a hint as to the weapons origins, Bwa'ran, the Vicious Lynx and Yaiba, the Bloody Clawed Panther, the names were ancient troll but they had no idea what the names mean or what the weapons were.

Soon enough everyone was rushing outside to face the oncoming force, the quakes were beginning to grow in intensity and frequency, and as it did so to were the number of creatures outside increasing, Draga was shocked that so many of these creatures were here. What was drawing so many of them to this location and how is it that so many of them evaded detection from the normal humans, as they existed through the large sliding doors they came face to face with an army, hundreds of the white skinned beasts were before them. Most of them were the smaller pale skinned kind, while there was a large quantity of the big black cloaked ones coming up the rear, each ranging in height by several stories, they were outnumbered but she knew that they shouldn't be a problem, as long as they worked as a team they could beat these things and make it out with little to no casualties.

"Fight in ya groups! Don' get separated!" he called out to them all, he stood in front of her small group with his two menacing axes by his side; he turned to us as said "Follow me"

He charged forward, giving those behind him no time to prepare to follow his order, he ran quickly towards the pale beasts before him and readied his axes, many watched to see what drove him to charge in like a maniac with a death wish. One beast charged forward, a humanoid like creature over eight and a half feet tall that wore a white tiki-like mask, its pale purple arms were normal apart from the protruding blades from his wrists, quicker than most would be able to perceive the creature shot its blade forward. Mojin did not try to dodge the attack, to a few of the onlookers they believed he was actually going to be killed, then faster than even the creature that attacked him, Mojin leapt up and over the attack and attacker, even while the creatures blade was still flying forward Mojin was sailing through the air with his body twisting upside down. Mojin had to look up to see the creature who was still on the ground and attacking where he was a few moment ago, gripping his axe he spun in the air and when he was behind the creature he swung his axe right towards its neck, it didn't even have time to turn around to see the attack coming, but its eyes did see the Troll Shaman landing on the ground as its head hit the dirt while its body remain motionless.

Not taking a single moment to rest Mojin attacked again, he swung his left axe from over his chest and into the side of another enemy, it sunk deep into its waist, had he known that a normal weapon such as an axe would mean little in terms of hurting a Hollow he would have been a fool to attack. However, these axes were not normal; they were ancient axes that were once part of the Gurubashi Empire, these items had been once used by the voodoo priests of that fabled empire in generation past, and with these two weapons one could bring low any man and even a Loa, but this weapon used not just Voodoo magic but also Shaman magic. In the wound the beast blood and flesh melted away as fire enveloping the weapons deadly edge, the creature would have screamed in pain, but only had a moment to do so before he was struck again, this time the other axe came down onto its shoulder and towards where its hole resided, and where its heart once exist in. Its flesh cauterising and continually burned even as the axe on its waist was wrenched free, pulling the weapon free he did a one eighty and stopped the large claw that descended towards him, turning further he pulled the axe from the creatures chest as its body was consumed by the elemental flames and swung it in an upward arc. The edge of the axe split the beasts mask in two along with its head and its chest, turning his axe in the air Mojin swung it the way it once came, twisting with the weapon, and at the oncoming limb of another attacker, cutting off the arm with no discernible effort, before swinging his other axe in a wide arc into the creatures chest and blowing out its back with a geyser of fire and molten rock.

The others watched on in shock at his display of martial prowess and elemental mastery, he was a living incarnation of wrath and destruction, he would use his weapons for both defence and offence and harness his elemental magic into each and every strike. He had taken down four attackers in almost as many seconds and with what appeared to be with ease, he was truly a warrior and his shamanistic abilities backed up his impressive display even more than normal.

"What the hell are you waiting for!" shouted a Death Knight from another group, his echoing voice bringing all to attention, a sick smile plastered over his pale features as he drew his Rune Axe from his back and cheered. "Let's get in there before he kills them all!"

It was then that the battle truly began, hundreds of monstrous creatures descended upon them and over a hundred of the most deadly warrior in the seventh fleet charged out to meet them, what happened was nothing short of a blood bath. Even though the death knights were mad and sadistic warriors they followed orders to the letter, they stood with their fellow warriors in their group and defended and fought alongside them with no argument or hesitation, save for the occasional friendly taunt towards some of them.

"Hah! Come on Paladin, I've got seven under my belt already, better hurry if you want to catch up!" said Morgana, as she swung down her Runeblade onto a wounded creature that was on its knees, it raised its arm hoping to shield itself from the attack, but only served to cut itself into more than two pieces, it cut through the limb before bisecting the rest of its body from neck to groin. "That makes eight!"

Carmila was busy blocking one attacker with her shield while pulling her sword free from another, she knocked aside the offending limb before cutting it off with a swing of her burning sword before retorting back "Don't you worry, I'll be taking the lead soon enough!"

Carmila ducked under the only remaining arm and cut off its leg just above the knee as she passed under it, the creature fell to its only remaining knee and used its only hand to keep itself from falling to the ground, Carmila then jabbed her sword forward like a lance and pierced the creatures skull, turning its mask and its head to ash. As it began to disintegrate a shadow loomed over her, behind her she saw one of the large black robed creatures looming over her and with its boot raised and ready to crush her, raising her shield she went to stop the attack, the last thing Morgana saw was the massive pointed shoe slamming down on top of the Paladin. For a few moments she thought that the Paladin had been killed, but when the foot was cut in half by an arc of golden flame she knew otherwise, lifting herself out of the small crater Carmila revealed herself in her complete and utter glory.

Her form glowed with a golden light, her sword shone with golden flame and above her heard was a halo of fire, and sprouting out her back were golden angelic wings that shot up and out over two metres, this signified the users strength and connection to the light, the greater one can manifest their powers the stronger they were. At her feet was a small tornado of golden fire that would rise into the air and disperse around her, even though she had been stepped on and was surrounded by divine fire she was completely unharmed, save for a few patches on her cloths that would need cleaning from all the dirt and demon blood that covered it. Morgana knew what this power was, it was the **Avengers Wrath**, over the years it had been used as a medium between the user and the light, with it a person would tap directly into the source of the light and become a warrior of divine destruction, but for years now it had been converted as a sort of divine ascendance. Increasing the users strength, agility, and connection to the light to such a degree that even the most basic of spells could topple even the most powerful of demons and unholy monstrosities, including the creature she was fighting now. Carmila looked up to the limping behemoth of black before her and it was too powerful to destroy in a single strike, she needed to ware it down first, bringing up her sword she channelled her power into a spell and with a quick descent she chanted "**Hammer of Justice!**" a golden ethereal hammer appeared before the beast and collided with its mask, an explosion of light knocked its back a few steps. Crushing several of the other creatures beneath it, it tried to retaliate but she was already channelling another spell, she gripped her sword in a reverse grip and with another chant she forced the tip of her blade into the ground "**Swords of Binding**".

When she said the words a light shot out from the blade and travelled across the ground towards the behemoth in black, golden fire went straight towards it and when it was a few metres away it immediately split, it shot in opposite directions of one another and started to surround the creature in a circle of golden light. When it connected at the opposite side of the beast the light began to glow that much brighter, the power of the spell could be felt as a transparent veil of light trapped the beast within the circle, and from the golden shroud six swords flew out and pierced into the back of the creature's legs. It fell to its knees a sword through either of its ankles, one through each of its knee joints and another along its calf's, as it planted its hands on the ground six more swords shot out from the veil, this time its palms were impaled and then its forearm and then elbow joint, completely pinning it to the ground.

Carmila slowly approached the beast, her steps leaving a trail of fire and her wings fluttering behind her, Carmila passed through the veil of light and as she did one beast tried to attack her from behind, and when it passed the barrier it found itself torn asunder. Its body was impaled by seven swords, and from the inside out its body was burned to ash, but the Paladin paid it no heed, instead she stood before the now bowed white masked behemoth before her, she raised single hand and placed it upon its head and began her chant.

"Grow frightened and be irradiate by the approaching dawn, shrink away and face your impending judgement, **Exorcism!**" she chanted the spell and from her hand a pulse of light shot through the beast entire form, soon its body began to glow with an intense golden light, its mask began to crack and its mouth and eyes were illuminated with holy fire as it was torn apart from within by the light. Soon its form exploded breaking the Seal and the veil leaving only a smouldering ring and the ashes of the defeated before the Paladin, soon the wings began to crumble away from her, the golden feather falling away and turning into flame and then extinguishing into nothing.

Soon her halo disappeared and her form no longer produced the glow it once did, Carmila took in a few deep breaths, she had not done that very often, the ability she had just used was only meant as a last resort or when fighting against very powerful demons. True to Avengers Wrath was known by all paladins and used by a vast majority of them, but this unique one could only be used by a select few within their ranks, it was dubbed the **Righteous Avenger**, where the warrior would literally have his body be guided by the light itself. He would use all his power and draw it into himself and he would become a living holy weapon, a practitioner would become nearly invincible and be able to perform feats other paladins could not, such as defeating an entire horde of demons single handily and even a scarce few, revive the dead.

But she was nowhere near that level of control or power, she could call upon it and use her power with greater efficiency but she couldn't destroy an entire horde of demons or revive the fallen with a wave of her hand, she was bound to a more mortal level than divine one. She looked around to see that the others were doing well against the creatures, and from what she could tell they had only taken injuries rather than casualties thus far, which was good, it meant that they didn't lose men to things they weren't meant to be fighting, they were already losing to much against the legion. She heard the sound of multiple impalements behind her, she turned to see four pale skinned beasts fall the ground multiple sword wound over their chests and skulls, each appeared to be delivered by the same weapon however.

'How did she do that with only one weapon?' thought Carmila, she looked to Morgana and saw a smug smirk on her face, 'The Sword Dancer' she was called; maybe she used more than one sword when she was fighting. But where were those sword, and from what she could tell she was Disciple of Blood, using the life force of her victims to keep her alive and use blood magic to increase her killing and fighting abilities, but what did her Runic name mean exactly.

"So your one of those Avengers, huh?" asked Morgana, to which Carmila took in a final breath and then laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I am" replied the Paladin, a loud crash caught both the women's attention, they turned to see three creatures fighting against Draga; one was a large black cloaked beast, she had a shield and axe in her hand and was busy killing one by driving her axe through its skull before turning to the other that was rushing towards her back. She then flicked her shield in its direction and then it flew from her hands and embedded its sharp edge into the beasts mask, the creatures forward momentum kept it going a few feet but it was dead before it started to slow down and began to rot, she reefed the axe from the creatures head and turned to the last one, the three story behemoth before her. She chanted under her breath and then from out of nowhere two large spirit wolves appeared, they howled before they charged at the giant creature, but as they did Draga was already attacking, she imbued her axe with the wind and then threw it at the beast leg, it spun through the air like a buzz saw and as it struck acted like one.

The behemoth let out a howl of pain as its leg was severed and fell to the ground in a heap, then another pained cry escaped its mouth when the two wolves pounced on its face, they gnawed at the bone white mask and tore off chunks with every bite, then Draga sprang into action. She leapt through the air supported by a wind current and both her hands were aglow as her shaman claws were imbued with lightning, as the creature raised itself with its hands she latched onto the beasts mask and drove both claws into the thick bone, and with a roar said "**Chain Lightning!**" it shuddered as the lightning coursed through its body. Its cloak and flesh were torn apart by the energy of the attack and when her spell was complete its body was a charred wreck, she leapt off as it began to fall forward, she flew through the air and as it hit the ground with an audible bang she landed gracefully on the earth. She lifted herself up and raised both hands, concentrating she called to her shield and axe, soon her shield was in her hand and her axe came spinning at her, she caught it effortlessly and readjusted her grip before fastening her shield to her arm.

"Nice work on those three!" called over Morgana, Draga turned her gaze to the Death Knight, and was surprised to see her with one of the beasts struggling to remove her hand from its throat. Morgana's attention however was fixed solely on Draga, she had a smirk on her face and from Draga could tell she looked like she was impressed with how the Shaman had handled herself, and her word confirmed her suspicions. "Didn't think you had it in you; guess you spend more time learning how to kill things than hanging out with most other people!"

Draga had to agree with that statement, but she just gave a nervous chuckle and shrugged, which earned a small laugh from the Death Knight before she drove her blade through the beasts chest killing it, she discarded the body and then turned back to the Shaman.

"Don't worry, were gonna be here for a while, I'm sure we can find a few things we have in common!" she cheered, before raising her hand to pull over another enemy and then deliver a two handed swing towards its oncoming head. Though Draga was a little surprised with how friendly the Death Knight was being with her, she didn't expect such kindness from her of all people, but it was likely she was interested in how she killed her enemy and would likely want to have a spar and hear some of her tales on what methods she has used and could use to kill something. But for now the battle was coming to a close, most of them beasts were dead and now it was time to mop up the rest, she turned to three approaching beasts that were attempting to leap onto her, with a sneer she channelled her power and shouted "**Flame Nova!**"

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**Now I am Altering a few spells and abilities and adding a few new ones to this thing. Gonna give a small summery on the ability, as well as stats if it was in World of Warcraft.**

**_Righteous Avenger_ - Similar to the spells namesake in Wow, increases the users damage and healing power by 20% - but for this I am using it as a sort of Ulti-Form for the Paladin Class - The Paladin souls and body become guided by the lights divine touch and give the wielder the power to perform divine feats, the wielder can either use his abilities to heal the wounded or smite the unholy foes that walk before it. A Halo forms around the users head and long wings form on their back, below them a ring of holy fire burns around them, destroying any foe that comes close.**

**_Swords of Binding_ - Summons a binding seal around a targeted enemy, the target is ensnared by several golden swords of light that slowly do 360 - 450 Holy damage (+125% of Spell power) over fifteen second every three seconds. While the seal is up, exorcism receives a 100% chance of a critical strike. If _Avengers Wrath_ is active then then _Sword of Binding_, damage will increase to 675 - 750 (+150% of Spellpower), and any hostile creature that comes within five yards of the affected target is instantly impaled by a holy sword, causing 100% weapon damage and stunning them for six second, while receiving _Woe of the Repentant_, which causes 250 - 325 holy damage every second for six second.  
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**The Swords of Binding is a powerful seal that ensnares any unholy creature within the circle that forms around the target it entraps, once this is done swords will appear from the golden veil and impale the targets limbs and bind them to the ground, once this is done the veil weaken the creature to allow a paladin to move in close and finish it off. Should this ability be activated alongside the Avengers Wrath, then the ability will take on an even more powerful visage, able to ensnare dozens of targets rather than one, or possibly an even more powerful foe that normal, should this happen they would become susceptible to her holy attacks or even outright killed by the seal.**


	4. Act 1, Chapter 03: First Contact

**Hello everyone, hope you enjoyed your holidays, because I sure did, now as many of you know I started this thing a while ago and right now I am starting it back up again, along with my other story Transcendence.**

**Now I will answer your reviews before telling you all the details**

**Leapinglemur: Well, here is soul's society for you, as for the other series I want to involve there is some problems with your suggestion, nothing against you I assure you, it's just that I want to include universes that are stand alone, which means that they don't interact or have some connection to another universe. Such as Bleach and Darksiders, both are about in essence the afterlife, and since Soul Society is the afterlife, I can't have like the well of souls and the city of the dead and stuff like that were the souls of the dead go, they don't mash up and as conflicting with one another, just like God of War, as it takes place on earth, several thousand years ago. Sometimes it's hard to mix things up; I made this concept to remove that obstacle about trying to mix different things like that together, but Dragon Age and the Elder Scrolls can work, because they are both set in fictional world and don't have any connection with any else, they are standalone series that aren't connected to anything else. So it's likely that any series or game that is set on earth is likely out, but if they have the prospect to be altered where they aren't on earth, such as Full Metal Alchemist then it can be included, for they take place on a unique world entirely. I hope you understand what I am trying to do my friend; I meant no offense in declining your ideas.**

**Saddas74: Thank you, the battle and action scenes come well for me, I usually imagine them in my head and then go about writing them down, you know like in those high class martial arts films, and the one in this is specifically cool. Yeah I glad you like the assassination and the teams going to be searching japan. And the fight well you shall see, both what they are planning and what their gonna do about it.**

**Kinglugia: yeah, I sometime miss things, I need an editor and maybe a beta reader, my old one sadly could do my work for me anymore, I miss him… sad face.**

**99 luffy: This arc will take place during the thousand year blood war, since only eight voted and four picked it well you can see where I'm going with this. As for the different fics I'm putting in this, well there are a lot. Naruto and Bleach you are familiar with, but the others are Full Metal Alchemist (Anime/Manga series), Claymore (Anime/Manga series), Avatar: the Legend of Korra (Cartoon) Final Fantasy Seven through to Thirteen (Videos Games). They are the main ones I'm putting in, but if there are others that match the criteria I put up above then I am open to suggestions.**

**Now as I said earlier, this story will be taking place during the Thousand Year Blood War, but it will be a bit before it all starts, that way I can improve on the interaction between the two forces before the war begins. That way I can develop how they will either become allies or not, and during the war how one side is pulled into it against their wishes.**

**Also I have made alterations to the other chapters; I have made several alterations here and there and a major one in Chapter One: This Wretched World, mainly the part about the twelfth division, I sadly didn't like how I did that one, made some mistakes there and decided to redo it, Be sure to take another look at the previous chapters to brush up on the story before you read this chapter.  
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**United Against the Legion of Flames**

**Chapter 03: First Contact and Revelations**

There had been many ideas and concepts about the soul and the afterlife, what it is like? Where it is? Is there a god? But there is no sure way to be certain about what you can expect when you pass over, some think it is in the heavens on the clouds, some think there are more than one heaven that you can travel to, sitting atop one another and depending on how virtuous and good a person be determines how much greater his reward is. But alas over many thousands of year's mankind is no more close to understanding and finding the afterlife then they are in finding and confirming the existence of Atlantis, for it is something that completely eludes the living, for the only way to know what it is like and if what they believe it is to be exists, then they must simply wait for the time when they pass from this world onto the next. And as soon as they do, they are in for quite a surprise if they remember their time on earth, for heaven is not what anyone would have expected.

For Heaven or as it is called to its denizens: Soul Society, it is a place that exists parallel to the living world, two sides of the same coin as one would think, and because of that the two worlds are not so much different from one another. When one passes on from the world of the living and into the spirit world, they do not expect to arrive in a place that resembles feudal japan; in fact, heaven would not be the best place to call soul society. For the souls of the departed do not all live in bliss and luxury, for poverty and sickness exist in this world as it does in the living, as does another kind of death, even as a soul you can be killed here, though not as easily as you would in the living world, still you may die and your souls shatters into nothing but energy that becomes part of the world. Just as the body of the deceased dies and rots and becomes part of the earth once more, so to does the soul decompose and become part of the spiritual energy that forms Soul Society.

Ruling over this realm and maintaining the balance of the world of the living and the dead are two separate groups: The first is Central 46, a council created to rule over Soul Society in the absence of the Soul King, who one may see as the benevolent God who created the world; they maintain the balance and justice in the afterlife. But the laws they decree and write to parchment cannot maintain order and balance alone, for as they decree, there must be other to maintain those laws, and that is the purpose of the Gotei 13, an army of specially trained and powerful spiritual beings that protect both worlds from anarchy and chaos, by maintaining the balance of souls between them and defeating and purifying corrupted spirits known as Hollows.

In ancient times they were known by many names across the world of the living, both as a singular figure and as many beings: The Grim Reaper, The Valkyrie, Thanatos, and Yama are just a few of their personifications, some are true others are fiction created by imaginative minds and fairy tales. For they are best known as Shinigami, Soul Reapers, and the Gods of Death. They are the force that maintains balance between the two worlds, protecting the living and the uncorrupted from corrupted spirits known as Hollows, they had done so for thousands of years, and have always been led by the Captain-Commander: Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

* * *

**Soul Society, 1st Division**

A single bang echoed through the captain's meeting hall, all other sound silenced themselves at the harmonious echoing, the cause of the sound was a large harmless looking wooden staff held in the hands of an old and frail man hunched over on his wooden throne, he had a very long white beard that flowed down to his stomach, and long eyebrows that fell down the side of his head to his chin. There are many scars hidden on his torso and head, the two most prominent being a pair of long, perpendicular scars above his right eye, though he appeared to have fought before, many would think him nothing but an old man that was no more a threat to them as a fly. But in truth he was more dangerous than any other person you wish to face, for he was the leader of the Gotei 13, the captain of the First division and the strongest Shinigami that has existed in the last thousand years. His sword can reduce all who feel its sharp edge to ash and his strength and power rivals that of any man, no matter their age or experience they could not compare to the raw power that was this man, there were none greater than Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

"This meeting has come to order" said Captain-Commander Yamamoto, his eyes nothing but slits as he gazed at the assembled Captains, who stood in two neat lines of six, they were varied in stature and appearance, some tall other shorts, some with black others with white and some with blonde. Some wore their emotions on their faces, others hid them behind a mast of stoicism, some had many scars, some had to few, they were a varied group, a group that were still rascal's in the eyes of the Captain-Commander. "We have been called here under the request of Kurotsuchi-taicho to discuss a serious situation in the world of the living."

All eyes turned to the black face captain of the twelfth division, who took a few steps forward and address the Captain Commander directly.

"Three weeks and a half ago we detected a large amount of unusual energy signatures in the world of the living, as well as many unusual hollow deaths, from what we cataloged there have been over twenty five hundred separate hollow death in short of a month that were not caused by shinigami." He stated factually, there were some furrowing of brows at this information, so many hollow death, especially in such quantities was uncommon, for even they aren't able to purify so many in such a short time.

"Unusual how?" asked Retsu Unohana, the Captain of the Fourth Division, also known as the medical division, she had long black hair tied in a braid that flowed over her shoulders and down her chest, she had an ever present smile on her face that never faltered no matter the situation. It had also led to many people fearing her, for she may appear peaceful and kind, but the subtle threats and that smile of her has made her one of the most infamous and terrifying captains in the Gotei 13, one you wish not to fight or be treated by within her division.

"From what we can tell there are six separate energy signatures, which make up to sixty anomalies in total, but that number is fluctuating continuously, so a correct number is impossible to discern" Mayuri stated, before a screen came down over the exit of the meeting hall and a projector came down from the roof. He turned it on and a picture of a battle sight was show, it was in an abandoned car dump, many cars had been torn apart and some had even been split in two, but the main thing it showed was the charred earth where something had been burnt to ash.

"This is an incident that occurred one week ago, from what we can tell the Hollow had been killed and purified by an unknown energy, that is completely different from Reiatsu on the molecular level." He said, some were surprised by this, they didn't have a clue what could kill a hollow and not use any reiatsu, that didn't make any sense for them, everything that required them to use Kido and their abilities required Reiatsu.

"Could it have been a human, you know like someone with a flamethrower of something" said Shinji Hirako, Captain of the fifth Division and Visored, a Shinigami and Hollow hybrid that could draw upon hollow abilities and increased strength, he had straight blonde hair that framed his face, but along his forehead his hairline was slanted slightly, he wore simple Shinigami robes and a captain Heiro. When he made his observation he was rebutted by another Captain, Kensei Muguruma, Captain of the Ninth, he had short silver hair that was spiked upwards, he was a fellow visored and a friend of Shinji, with a permanent scowl on his face.

"Don't be an idiot, even if a human did kill it, where would he get a flamethrower?" said Kensei , which would have ended up turning into a full blown argument between the two had not Mayuri interrupted them.

"No, it was definitely not a human made weapon that did this, I have a sample of it in the lab, and from what I can tell, it is completely unnatural." Said the black and white striped face Captain, they could see that he shifted uneasily when he spoke about it, and if he was unnerved by something like this, then it must be more serious than they all know.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Toshiro

"I mean that when my researchers found a specimen in the Rukongai district" he said, which made some of them shudder at the thought on how he treats those around him "They found a man that when anyone came in contact with him were burnt severely, and depending on how strong ones Reiryoku is determined on how badly burnt they would get."

"Am I to assume that the members of the twelfth that arrived in my Barracks a few days ago were the ones who were attacked?" Asked Captain Unohana

"Yes, but they weren't attacked, it would seem that whatever energy was clinging to the man was not of his own control" replied Kurotsuchi

"You mean it acted of its own accord?" asked Sajin, Sajin Komamura is a large anthropomorphic wolf, the only within Soul Society, he stood at a massive nine and a half feet tall and has a massive bulk, he had light brown fur and in the only captain to wear armor, shoulder-pads and metal boots. While he may appear to be an animal he is not one in personality, he is an honorable and goodhearted man.

"Yes, but why I do not know yet, its structure is completely different from Reiatsu, it's an almost impossible substance, something like it shouldn't even exist" shouted Mayuri, his frustration over this energy clearly evident.

"Shouldn't exist? What's that supposed to mean?" asked Shinji

"Reiatsu is a pressure, if you use a great deal of it and you can do almost anything, increased strength, speed and power, but it is also chaotic and hard to control and when one senses it, it can instil fear and despair into enemies and subordinates alike." said Kurotsuchi "But this, this think is almost the opposite, exposed to use it reacts like fire to oil, but from what I can surmise it is powerful and can overwhelm you, but it doesn't induce fear or despair, it brings pleasure and serenity, where reiatsu is a pressure, this energy is a release."

That earned him some odd stares, could he be saying that there exists a power that is basically opposite of reiatsu that instead of when it is released it doesn't hurt you it makes you feel better, instead of tension you feel at ease. There was quiet murmuring through the hall about this news, but one question came to mind about this power, if it is as he says it is, then how come it destroyed the hollow and acted violently against anyone who came near it.

"If it's so peaceful then why did it attack your men?" asked Byakuya Kuchiki

"I have been looking into it, and from what I can tell there is something about our reiatsu that makes it react that way, it might be some sort of makeup that our bodies produce that causes it to have a negative reaction, most likely it thinks us a threat." Replied Mayuri "But I believe that it is being uses as a weapon, for the hollows were effectively reduced to ash by this power, which was being used and controlled by someone."

"What about the other signatures, what do you know about them?" asked Shunsui Kyōraku, an man who appeared in his early forties and had a trimmed beard and long black hair tied in a ponytail with several strand falling over his face, he wore a conical straw hat and a pink, flowered ladies kimono, which he drapes across his shoulders and over his captain's uniform.

"Little regrettably, when they show up it would seem that the targets are killed with another form of energy, although I have determined that it comes from a similar source, it is moulded into something else before it is released." Said Mayuri

"So their drawing on their power from somewhere and then they alter it into the shape they need." Murmured Shunsui, thinking over the information, if it was reiatsu then they could understand, but since their drawing on another form of energy that makes it harder for them to determine who these people could be or what their capable of.

"Yes, on one case we found the remains of hollow bodies that had been burnt and frozen, both of which we can attest came from the same unique individual." Said Mayuri "Meaning that it can be used in many different capacities, but the main abilities seem to be the manipulation of the elements."

"Fire and Ice, that's an odd combination" said Toshiro

"But there have been others, far more dangerous one, I have gathered data on several signatures that use power that is far more potent than Reiatsu" said Mayuri, which was something they found hard to believe, reiatsu was a very dangerous and chaotic element, if unleased and channelled properly it could devastate and entire city with ease.

"More potent that reiatsu, what could be so deadly?" asked Unohana, worry over the implications behind such use of power.

"I don't know, but from what we can tell, they drew upon the energy from an unknown source, my third seat was able to detect that it was coming from some dimensional plane separate from ours." Said Mayuri "But the energy seemed unstable and very chaotic, in fact it was so dangerous that it appeared to actually harm the user as well as the hollow, in fact on some scene we determined that it feeds on the person life force to power his spells."

"They sacrifice their own life force to fight against hollows, what kind of fool makes such a sacrifice."

"One who want power, it appears that it makes them much more powerful than their counterparts, and also it seems that they can substitute it for someone else" said Mayuri, making everyone look at him quizzically "They are able to siphon the life force of others it would appear, and also I detected them stealing the hollows soul, for what I can likely conclude as a substitute for the source of life from which his power draw upon.

"They are using the souls of the dead as a source of energy for their powers" barked Sajin in disgust, which was matched by many other captains in the room, the desecration and subjugation of souls as tool was completely disgusting. To use human souls in such a manner, that was evil beyond words, to use a soul as a source of power so that you would not suffer its ill effect, it would have been better if they had been killed by a hollow and consumed rather than be used in such a way.

"It would also seem that depending on how powerful the soul is, determines on how long they can use the soul before it is completely drained, and from what I can tell it eats away at the spirit leaving nothing behind." Said Mayuri, his words low as he spoke, obviously sharing their sentiment on using souls as a power source, although it did sound like an idea, maybe not in regards as having the soul destroyed, but as a power source that absorbs any ambient reiatsu from the atmosphere. He could test it out some time on a few of his subordinates.

"This is an affront to all we stand for, we cannot allow these people to move about and do such thing with those we're meant to protect" said Sajin, his words a growl, and they were in agreement on that fact, they had to stop these people before more are harmed.

"But there have been other effect that had been more beneficial for the souls." Said Mayuri, on a more positive note, which didn't seem appropriate from the details he explained to them only a moment ago.

"More beneficial? You just said so yourself: that they use them as a power source and it destroys the soul" asked Shinji, his tone carried some bite as he spoke to the twelfth division Captain.

"That was only a small majority among the whole, the others seem to have much more positive effect on the soul rather than negative." Replied Mayuri calmly, ignoring the glare that was sent his way by the Sixth Division Captain.

"What kind of benefits are we talking about here?" asked Toshiro

"Some seem to have a much better developed Hakusui than normal and also it seems that their cognitive and mental capabilities have also improved as well, this came from a certain group that were assaulted by a specific signature."

"So they killed them, and then made them smarter?" Shinji deadpanned, not fully understanding the logic of killing someone and then making them smarter, it's not like it's going to get them anywhere when the get here.

"It may be a side effect of their specific powers, from what we can tell from these specimens they manipulate natural energy on a base level and then shape it into other things; this is the same group who use fire and ice as a weapon."

"This energy, where are they drawing it from?" asked Shunsei

"No idea, it is completely foreign, are sensors didn't pick it up at first, we thought it was some sort of glitch when we saw five hollows disappear and when four identical signatures appear around the first." said Mayuri, detail about how during one certain detection that one of the anomalies somehow had copied himself four times, each had the same level of power, but three were not living creatures, more like illusions.

"How strong are these guys" asked 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki, a sadistic smile on his face at the prospect of fighting these enemies, that is the kind of man he was, the eleventh was made up of the most brutal and blood thirsty Shinigami that came out of the Academy. He was the second tallest captain, standing at six foot six inches tall; he had slicked back spiky hair and wore an eye patch, although it was more as a limiter to his powers than for actual aesthetics or eye protection.

"From what we have gathered on their strength in comparison to ours, they only a have a small group that can compare to lieutenant class, but I would still be wary of them, one that appeared to have only the power of a tenth seat was able to take down a Minos Grande single-handedly."

That was a surprise for them, taking down a Minos was not an easy feat, even a lieutenant would have some difficulty taking one down alone, and officers below fourth in rank wouldn't stand a chance against a single one. So this meant that they were either hiding most of their power or they were highly trained and skilled at fighting, which could be dangerous in either case, they may be the best in soul society but these beings are tearing their way across the living world like a storm.

"These energy signatures, where are they now?" asked Toshiro, then he noticed Kurotsuchi's hesitation to say, something bad was happening and he knew that the next words from his mouth would confirm it.

"They are concentrated along with west coast of China, and from their current movements, they will be arriving in Japan soon"

Those words made all their eyes go wide; they were coming here, to their central hub, if they found their way here then they may be trying to get into soul society, if that was the case then they had to mobilize their forces immediately.

"Tell us everything you know about these unknown beings, everything" order Yamamoto

* * *

**Twelfth Division**

The division had been quiet for the last few hours, there had been a few signatures that appeared on the southern most parts of Japan, but from what they could tell there were only fifteen or so that have been detected, and since then there have been no other anomalous readings.

"What's the status on those anomalies?" asked Akon, he took a quick sip of his coffee before looking down at the screen that was being work at by a female researcher.

"Nothing has turned up, there hasn't been anything for nearly four hours" she said

"What about those that made it across into southern Japan?" inquired Akon

"Disappeared, we kept getting a few pop ups that there have been attacks in certain area, but the local Shinigami in the area likely the ones who are doing the killing." She replied matter-of-factly while manipulating the controls on the console to bring up large amounts of data and information.

"As soon as you get positive signal let me know, we need to keep an eye on them." Said Akon, before he turned around made off to his office; he has had a long week, days up monitoring the movements of all these anomalies had been very stressing on him and made it hard for him to sleep. Especially about the fact that souls were being taken and used in manners that made even him shudder, Akon has seen his Captain perform horrible experiments and kill his subordinates without mercy, but that, a soul being torn apart and uses as a source of fuel, that is something he hoped he would never see.

"Yes sir, I will notify you wh… Sir! We have something!" she called to him, Akon stopped in his tracks, his entire form going rigid in fear, he whirled on his feet and rushed back over to see if his worst fears were confirmed.

"What is it? More of those anomalies?" his words were rushed and thick with worry.

"No sir, a large Hollow incursion, dear Kami, there's hundreds of them!" she shuddered at the reading she was getting, even though this was a bad thing, Akon couldn't help but be relieved, if this was about those Anomalies he would likely have to watch as more hollows are utterly cut down, by means that even they didn't deserve. "Sir we have an incursion of at least eight hundred and ninety hollows, twenty of which are Minos Grande's."

"Damn it, how many men do we have in the area?" said Akon, his words were stressed but one could tell his relief was quelling much of it.

"Five sir, but they aren't equipped or strong enough to handle that many" she reported automatically, her hands working quickly to bring up all available information on the area and the current situation. "We need to send in an entire division just to handle this kind of incursion."

"Alright, sound the general alarm and alert the divisions of a hollow invasion in the Yamaguchi Prefecture, tell them to prepare the men for deployment" ordered Akon, before turning and moving off to inform the captains of the Hollow incursion, but before he could he was called out to again, and this time it was words that he didn't want to hear.

"Sir! We're picking up an anomaly in the vicinity of the hollows" she said, Akon whirled on his feet again and paced back towards her, his worry much more pronounced then it was when she mentioned the hollow incursion.

"How many?" he asked in a low tone, as if trying to whisper so that it wasn't heard and therefore not answered

"One sir, but this thing, its level of power is-" she stopped mid-sentence, before her eyes widened again at the reading she was getting. "Wait, more are appearing, ten, twenty two, forty seven; sixty three, that can't be, how can there be so many?"

"How could so many of them slip by unnoticed?" barked Akon

"Eighty five, ninety four; one hundred and five, this is impossible?" she murmured

"Sir, were picking up two new anomalies that don't match any of the others!" shouted another researcher, Akon snapped his neck toward him so fast one would think he would have broken it and died right then and there.

"What!" he screamed, his anxiety rising at the mere prospect of others things among them, it was certain, these beings all knew each other and it would appear are working in conjunction.

"Two new ones sir, their level of powers; it's surreal; the first anomalous group range from eighth seat to high lieutenant level, while the second is from third seat to mid-captain level." Said the researcher, many researchers stopped to look down at their specific reading to confirm it with their own eyes, it was truly a shocking thing to look upon.

"Impossible, how such powerful signatures could escape our notice, there no way, the hollows would have found them before us." said Akon, his body felt heavy, this wasn't some group of warriors, this was an invasion.

"One hundred and forty eight, there are a hundred and forty eight of them in total" murmured the female researcher, all eyes on her as she spoke "One fifth of the hollow force has already been dispatched, the rest are falling as we speak."

"Sir what are your orders" called another researcher, Akon was stumped, he had no idea how to deal with this, he knew that only one person could and he had to speak with him immediately.

"Monitor them, call up all the divisions and make sure that they are ready, I need to get to Kurotsuchi-Taicho!" said Akon before he turned towards the door and shunpoed out, leaving the room full of shocked scientists and researchers to watch as a small army of a hundred and forty eight take down a force six times larger than their own.

* * *

**First Division**

"If we are dealing with some sort of invasion or preemptive strike then we need to prepare for it" said Sui-Feng, a short petite Captain of the Second Division, she was more inclined in finding these Ryoka and annihilating them as quickly and efficiently as possible, although she may be one for force and going in for the kill, she knew how to obey orders and did so to the letter.

"I agree we should mobilize out forces and create a response team to confront these anomalies before they arrive." Said Byakuya, Head of the Kuchiki Noble House, one of the four Great Noble Houses of Soul Society, he was a calm and collected individual but because of his noble upbringing is not above his own pride.

"It's not that simple, there will be a slight delay in how long it will take for you to reach the world of the living, that is all the time they need to escape and our monitoring equipment has a delay in processing information in the world of the living and then transmitting it back to the twelfth, usually a few minutes." Said Mayuri

"So we station our force in the world of the living and when they arrive we strike" barked Sui-Feng, her desire for how what direction this operation should go in, very apparent.

"Maybe we should see about meeting with these individuals, they haven't actively attacked any humans nor do we have any evidence they are going to attack us directly, only hollows have been attacked." Said Ukitake

"Actually that may not be true" said Mayuri, bringing all eyes back to him "We detected an unknown energy signature in Southern Africa yesterday, from what we can tell there was a sudden burst of energy before an explosion engulfed an entire city block"

"Were there any casualties?"

"Yes, about two hundred were killed, but from what our scanners detected they were all killed before the explosion occurred."

"So they killed them and then covered it up with an explosion" said Shinji

"Correct" said Mayuri

"If they are willing to kill humans then I guess they don't have any qualms about killing souls." said Kensai

"What do we know about those they killed?" asked Retsu Unohana

"Not much, just that he was some sort of former military officer in the world of the living, although we did see that he did pass into hell after he died." Said Mayuri

"Maybe we should see what his activities were and see if it correlates with something that could have gotten him killed." Said Retsu

"A matter for another time perhaps" the gravelly voice of Yamamoto resounded through the room "For now we will track down these individuals and learn all we can from them, but I want them alive, understood?"

"Yes sou-taicho" they chorused, even though they had killed and some enslaved spirits they still needed to find out as much as they could about this new enemy of theirs, and living enemies speak more than the dead ones.

"Good, a response team will be formed to combat this unknown force, Captain Hitsugaya you will lead it, you may choose which lieutenant's you wish to accompany you and as many others seated and unseated officers as you deem fit." Said Yamamoto, there was another affirmative from the short captain. "Send me your team request and I will see it approved, you have two days to form the squad…"

Before he could continue someone came barrelling through the doorway, before colliding with the projector screen and ripping it from the roof before he and it tumbled to the ground in a large heap, on the ground was the rustling form of an unknown shinigami trying to free himself from the plastic sheet. All captains looked on at the scene with curiosity at who it might be, it was when he finally pulled his out of the plastic to show Third Seat Akon on the ground panting heavily and drenched in sweat, that they wondered what came over him to rush into this meeting hall unannounced.

"Fool! What are you doing here?" screamed Mayuri, stalking towards his subordinate, who sputtered and tried to explain.

"Sir we've detected the anomalies!" he exclaimed, his word were frantic, trying to get the out as quickly as he could, his Taicho stopped and looked at him, even though he was angry at his subordinate interruption he knew Akon would never barge in here if it wasn't important.

"Well, spit it out!" shouted Mayuri

"We detected a massive hollow incursion in Yamaguchi Prefecture, over eight hundred and ninety" he said quickly, many captains looked on wide slightly wide eyes at the size of such a force, there hasn't been such a large number of hollows in a singular area since before they could remember.

"What caused this?" shouted the Soi-Taicho, his voice growing more hoarse and angry, not at the third seat but at the fact that such a large force was present in the world of the living and that it has been allowed to enter.

"The anomalies sir, they must have been drawn to them" said Akon, all eyes on him now "There are a hundred and forty eight separate signatures' sir and now there are eight anomalies."

Shocked faces could be seen around the room, close to one hundred and fifty signatures that was a small army, and he said that there were two new signatures that meant that they likely got reinforcements from somewhere, which was even worse.

"Damn it, how could so many have slipped by unnoticed?" murmured Mayuri

"Sir, the new anomalies, their power, its ranges from fifth seat to mid-range captain level" another shocking truth for the captains, there were more and now they had something that could possibly contend with them in raw power alone, this had turned from a potential threat to an actual one. Even though it was unlikely that there would be a human that could match up to a captain with hundreds of years of experience, it was likely they were dealing with individuals that were more experienced than most, as with the fact their weakest can take on a Minos Grande singlehandedly with some effory.

"How long ago did the attack begin?" asked Mayuri

"Ten Minutes, we don't have enough people in the area to verify anything, we need to send in reinforcements" said Akon

"So we shall" proclaimed the captain commander "Kyōraku, Hitsuguya, Kuchiki, Sui-Feng you four will be leading an advance party, gather your men and depart immediately, if you come in contact with hostile forces, fall back and gather reinforcements."

"Yes sou-taicho" they all said, before shunpoing out from the meeting hall and back to their respective barracks to gather their men and then depart to the world of the living.

"I want all other divisions on standby, when they return I want you to be ready for any combat situation, understood!" the rest of the captains confirmed his order before departing for their own divisions to prepare their men.

* * *

**Twenty minutes later, Senkaimon Gate**

After some time getting their forces together the four captains were ready to depart for the world of the living, their lieutenants and fifty men from each division at their backs, they were lined up into four columns and at the head were each of the captains. Standing in front of them was Yamamoto; his only remaining arm holding his staff and ready address his subordinates, at the gate were the Kido Corp who were currently opening the gate to allow them to reach the area of incident within a few moments.

"Captain's, you and your forces will be sent to the world of the living to find those who have appeared and to determine if they are a threat or not, if they are what we fear, then you have authorization to engage and kill if necessary." said the Captain-Commander, there was no reply or protest, they knew their duty and they could carry it out regardless of their views or standing. "Do your duty and do not fail!"

With that the small army of Shinigami marched towards the Senkaimon, led by their captains and lieutenants, ready to face whatever was on the other side, whether it be an army of hollows or the gates of hell they marched forward, they passed the threshold and entered a large white room with a similar door on the other side. The gate opened to a night sky as soon as the door to soul society closed, without waiting the captains leapt through and then behind them their subordinates moved with them, they now stood mid-air over a city in southern Japan.

"The disturbance was several miles north west of our position" said Sui-Feng, turning towards their intended destination.

"Right, Sui-Feng, move ahead with your squad and cover a wide area and make sure we don't rush into any sort of ambush, and if or when you find them alert us immediately" the stealth force commanded nodded before she and her forces quickly flashed stepped towards their destination. "We'll follow one minute behind them, Toshiro follow up the left flank and close in on the south-west section of the target area, Byakuya take the north-east, and my group will take the south-east."

They all nodded their head in understanding and took off, going in three separate directions but to the same place, they all were sixty second behind the stealth force that was covertly scouting out the woods for any signs of hostiles. They may have responded to the attack after only thirty minutes, but from their track record they could easily disappear in that time frame, and since there was delay between what happened in the world of the living and that of the dead, they had more time on their hands. So Shunsui wouldn't be surprised if his forces didn't find anything, after all they had more warning on previous scout parties and got there much quicker, but still they were a large group, escaping would not be easy for such a large force quickly, but still they got here undetected, so leaving might be the same.

* * *

Sui-Feng landed on a small branch that overlooked a large clearing, but it wasn't clear as its name suggested, she could see the still decomposing bodies of hundreds of hollows, blood soaked the ground and its metallic stench permeated the air heavily. But among the dead hollows there were no others, no signs of what could have caused such a massacre, there was no one here, she couldn't sense anything in the distance, nor would she be likely to, if they didn't use reiatsu then it was unlikely she could sense them. She looked over at the stealth force operatives she brought with her, they were in the tree line scoping out the clearing, with a single silent hand gesture she ordered the men to spread out and search for anyone, they did so immediately by flash stepping away from the immediate area. She hopped down from her roost and into the clearing, behind her was her Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaeda, his lumbering form sometimes made others think him not suited for the stealth force, that was partly true, for it wasn't his combat experience that made him unsuitable for it, it was his personality and work ethic that made him a hindrance for the division.

"Damn" he muttered to himself, looking at the carnage around him with little interest, as most of it was more concerned with the next chip he is going to pull out of his snack bag. "Wonder what caused all this?"

"Keep your guard up." she chastised the lumbering lieutenant, who went rigid for a second before doing his best to obey her order, even though he was a fool and acted like a moron, he was actually smart enough to know not to piss his captain off. "We don't know if they're still here or not."

She examined the bodies of the recently killed hollows, their corpses quickly dissolving before the naked eye and converting into spirit particles, she could see from what remains of some that they had been cut down and other torn apart. Whatever came here certainly had different methods of execution, in fact on several corpses she found only a single stab wound, usually along their neck or spine, to sever the brain or cut a major artery, and from the size of some it looked like only small daggers were used, the tools of an assassin.

Soon the Shunsui arrived on the scene, his lieutenant Nanoe Ise and fifty of his soldier right behind him, he walked through the carnage, examining the dead hollows and seeing the different signs of now they were killed.

"This sure is a mess" he said to himself, before walking up to Sui-Feng and speaking with her directly. "I assume you found no resistance or anyone in the area?"

"No, but my squad is scouting out the surrounding area, they will report anything that is found" she said in a businesslike tone. Just then Byakuya appeared along with his Luietanant and men, they were near the edge of the clearing and moving ahead to meet up with the rest of the squads.

"Man this place is a mess" said Renji Abarai, looking at the dead bodies that littered the ground and the blood that was starting to coagulate and stick the soles of their sandals.

"My thought exactly" said Shunsei, he looked over to his men and said "Search the area, find anything that suggests who did this"

"Yes sir" they chorused before moving off to search through the battlefield, some going in teams to look through the bodies while others search for any clue on the field.

"Any ideas what we're dealing with here?" asked Shunsei, his question directed to Sui-Feng

"No, but from some of these wounds, it appears that they are very well trained, some I only found a single minute wound, but they were so precise on the hollows weak points that no matter what type of weapon struck they would be killed instantly, mask or not." She reported

"That's troubling, if they are that skilled, the going against them might be a bad idea, especially if there are more of them out there."

"What makes you think there are more?" asked Byakuya, who was looking over the field, his keen eyes searching for anything that stood apart from the natural environment and the dead hollows.

"Because, from what Mayuri reported, these guys appeared all across the globe and not until a week later did they start coming this way, they were the scout party, and now their likely looking for something before their main force arrives." Replied Shunsei seriously

"How could they not know where we are though, if they are looking for us then shouldn't they have known we mainly operate in Japan." Said Renji

"That's begs the question: are they looking for us?" said Shunsei "Or are they looking for something else?"

That was something they had considered, but the fact that they were adapt at killing hollows and seem to be converging on the singular largest spiritual rich area on the planet caused the alarms to go off, after all this wasn't the first time someone has tried this sort of thing.

"But what could they be looking for if it's not us?" asked Nanoe

"I don't know, but, I have a feeling that it doesn't bode well for any of us" said Shunsei, just as he said this, a stealth force operative appeared kneeling in front of Sui-Fang.

"Sui-Feng-Taicho" said the unranked operative, they looked down at the man and saw he was wounded, two deep gouges in his arms, pierced from one side to the other, and they could see bone from within.

"Speak" she ordered, wanting to know what happened immediately.

"We found two unknown individuals on the other side of the clearing in an abandoned building, nine of us tried to apprehend them but they were attacked by a third unknown individual, six are presumed dead and twelve others are heavily wounded, Hitsuguya-Taicho has engaged the target alone."

Surprised faces lit up at the news, someone had taken down six of their men so quickly and now is fighting against their captain and likely whatever was left of the stealth force and the tenth that infiltrated that building, without anytime to lose, and Sui-Feng issued her orders.

"Contact all squad members, converge on the target and apprehend them, use whatever force is necessary." Those were her last words before she flashed stepped towards the location where she felt Captain Hitsuguya's reiatsu, the other captains and lieutenants on her tail.

* * *

**Ten Minutes earlier**

Inside the abandoned factory were nine Onmitsukidō shinigami, hidden in the shadows of the massive structure, looking for anyone who may be hiding within, and capture them if there are any, after splitting up and searching for anyone inside they all converged onto one area. There was a large office space, containing nothing but two people and a large mirror, but the funny thing about these two were about three feet tall and had green and pink hair respectively, male and female and they were currently chatting to one another with childlike squeaky voices.

"Come on we need to get back to the Garmak, don't want to stay around too long, more of those things may show up" said the pink haired woman, she was placing a small white stone with a blue spiralling rune on its surface.

"Yeah, it surprising how those thing got so corrupted, I mean they're much more mutated and violent compared to spirits back home, I wonder what causes it, time being stuck here or maybe exposure to that demonic energy we've been searching for?" said the green haired man, both unaware that they were being watched by ten people.

"Hey, should we get that rouge, I mean I know he's meant to be watching out for us from the shadows, but were just about to leave." Said the pink hair short woman, these words caught some of the stealth force operative by surprise, and that's when the shit hit the proverbial fan, the tenth person that was watching from the shadows pounced on the other nine.

Two daggers sunk into the backs of two Onmitsukidō operatives, severing their spinal cord at the bade of the neck, before the other seven could even turn their head to see what happened to them two more were struck down by throwing knives, three in either of their chest, and with that their attacker melded into the shadows and disappeared. Leaving five shocked stealth force operative, and four bodies that had only just hit the ground, alerting the two unaware gnomes to their presence, who looked up to see five black leather clad assassins leering down at them. The Onmitsukidō quickly dropped from their hiding spot on the walkway above and landed inside the office, surrounding the two short creatures, their weapons drawn and ready to use, but before they could they were attacked again, something came through the shadows and lunged at one of the Onmitsukidō.

The stealth force operative brought up his blade to stop the deadly dagger that was aimed for his throat, but it was only a distraction for the second that pierced his side and berried itself into his liver, the sharp blade was quickly pulled free and ready to sate itself on the blood of another victim. It was then that the four surviving Onmitsukidō attacked, seeing this one's potential threat compared to the smaller defenceless ones, they all charged the unknown assassin, who quickly leapt away from their strikes and deflected them with ease. Soon they were in a large assembly area in the middle of the factory, the four Onmitsukidō surrounding the unknown man, who wore some very tight fitting armour across his entire body, similar to their own armour but much more extravagant and disturbing. It was a very dark grey and purple that shifted into the shadows that surrounded him, it was actually harder to look at him with a shadow to his back, and it was like his armour was designed for maximum protection and movement along with stealth.

His head was covered with a hood and a skull face mast that showed dark emotionless eyes, on his shoulders were metal shoulder-guards with three curved spikes along the lengths; his armour had many depictions of skulls and bones. In his hands were two golden daggers that shone in the moonlight, both were beautifully crafted weapons, the single edged blades was straight and narrow while along the blunt edge was serrated, the hilts were composed of a golden cross guard which had a blue sapphire gen imbedded within and along the bottom three more hold between protruding spikes. The hilt was made of a metal scales, which formed a smooth red hilt with a golden pummel with a blue sapphire imbedded within, they were truly weapon to flaunt at, but they were not mere accessories to carry on the belt, they were strong that was for sure, from the three who had their lives ended by the very edge of those daggers.

"Drop your weapons and you won't be killed" ordered one of the Onmitsukidō, but his only response was the man raising his daggers to his side and waiting for the first to attack, but they wouldn't give him the satisfaction of killing another one of them.

They all charged forward swords raised and ready to kill, the rogue did not show any signs of worry as they all charged at the same time, and just as their blades were to rend flesh he made his move, which was faster than any of them could have anticipated. He had spun, knocking the two blades that would have piercing his chest and back with both blades before quickly ducking to avoid the other two that were to pierce his sides, and in that momentary hesitation from the four assassins, he made his counterattack. He moved to the one that attacked from his left, now in front of him, he used his right blade to knock away the Onmitsukidō's sword and spun on his heels to elbow him in the side of the head, before moving on to the one opposite to the man he just dazed. Stepping forward he deflected both sword on his left and right that were meant to decapitate him, deflecting them overhead before raising his boot to kick the third man at his front in the stomach, knocking the assassin off his feet and onto the ground.

Turning quickly he brought up his dagger to stop two more strikes, both blades connected with his dagger but there was no strength behind the attack and was easily stopped with one hand, he then swiped at the assassin at his right, with his right-hand dagger, the blade moving towards the Onmitsukidō throat. But the assassin stepped away just in time for the blade to miss cutting his jugular, it was when the stealth force operative drew back that the rogue attacked the other operative, twisting around he kept the left-hand dagger against his sword and spun towards the other assassin intent on stabbing him through the neck. He narrowly dodged the attack, the golden blade only making contact with the small bits of loose fabric rather than his face, the other assassin tried to stab the rogue through the back, the rogue already seeing the action continued his rotation and deflected the blade with his own before continuing to turn to stab him in the neck with his left-hand dagger. But the assassin ducked forward to avoid the killing blow, but left himself open when the blade that was moving over him halted, the rogue twisted the dagger until it was perpendicular to the assassins shoulders and neck, before it came back along its previous course, the Shinigami felt the blade press against his throat and in a violent fashion it pressed up under his neck and pulled hard.

The blade not only cut the man's throat but also made him do a twirl through the air, blood squirted free into the air as a fine red mist, the shinigami's spun three times before he hit the ground, the first one to be killed and it had only been five seconds since they began their little four on one attack. The assassin on his left moved to pierce his heart, only for the blade to be deflected by the rogues right-hand blade that was positioned across his chest to catch it on his left side, the action didn't seem practical but his next exploit showed that he needed his left hand free to counter. The rogue's left-hand dagger slid across the side of the shinigami's arm, forcing him to drop his sword as the deep laceration appeared along his forearm, but the next attack forced him to his knees, the rogue ducked down to avoid a stab from the enemy behind him. The rogue spun with his bow and with his left dagger he buried into the side of the attacker at his back while the right he sunk into the wounded man's knee, completely disabling them both from further action. But he wasn't done yet, with a quick ascent and twist he pulled his daggers free and cut two deep gauged into their chests, knocking them onto their backs, leaving only one assassin left to fight, he was in a defensive position and backing up slightly.

"What are you?" asked the Rogue, the shinimagi did not answer; he simply tightened the grip on his sword and held his ground. "I cannot sense whatever power you are using to enhance you physical abilities, so it begs the question: are you human?"

The assassin charged, sword in both hands ready to strike, his form blurring at he moved at almost unperceivable speeds, any lessor men would have flinched or even been shocked, but the rogue had seen a faster charge from those meat head warriors back in the fleet. This was no more different than seeing a warrior simply jog, it was sad to think this was meant to be an assassin, maybe a wannabe assassin, but still very sad, he looked at him from behind his mask with unblinking eyes. Sword raised high, intent on splitting the skull faces rogues head in two, but as he brought it down two things happened, the first his blade was halted but nothing came in contact with it, and the second, he felt intense pain shoot through his arms, he looked down and his eyes widened in shock at the state of his arms.

Both of the rogue's blades had pierced his arms, right between the Ulna and Radius, he couldn't move his arms an inch without intense pain shooting through his entire body, the shinigami watched as the dark skull eyes gaze into his, unemotional and uncaring. Then he began to twist his blade slowly, forcing the shinigami to spread his arms wide in order to lessen the pain, he groaned as he dropped his sword and felt the blades hard surface grind against his bones, he stifled a yell as he finally halted his movement.

"You didn't answer my question: what are you?" asked the rogue, the shinigami was about to retort when he felt the familiar build-up of reiatsu nearby, and in that instant there was someone beside them both.

Maxwell Sutherlin looked at the man he had in his grasp, he could see the pain in his eyes, but even though there was pain he saw something replace it for just a moment, gratification, what was he so happy about that the position he was in make him think he was going to get out of here. Just as he was about to ask again he heard a sudden shift in the air, a cool breeze brushed against his left side, glancing that way quickly he saw a young white haired man standing there, cold teal eyes boring into his black skull sockets, and his hand wrapped around a very long sword on his back. Quickly he pulled his daggers free before leaping away as the young man swung his sword down at him, he narrowly avoided the strike, it missed him by only a few centimetres, he looked over to the young man, and he wore black baggy robes and a white cloak. He also gave off a strange energy, Max could almost consider it cold, and he had only seen that in one type of enemy, Death Knights, but this kid here was definitely not one of those, he was missing a few necessities to make him one and if he was a death knight he would likely be dead right now.

"I was going to ask you to stand down, but I fear that you won't listen to a single thing I say" he said, his voice surprisingly deep for someone who appear to be a child. "Surround him"

With that order, over forty separate individuals appeared out of thin air, the only sign of their appearance was a low whooshing sound as they displaced the air around them, that was quite a trick, it wasn't teleportation, there was no after effect of creating a miniature portal within your personal space. The ones that surrounded him appeared to have similar uniforms as the young man, as well as similar swords, he noticed that there were about fifty three in the room, including the young man and the wounded assassins on the ground, he was in a bind. He just hoped that those gnomes had escaped along with the mirror, because if they were captured it would be hard for them to keep quiet, he didn't know if they condoned torture but if they used assassins then it was likely they used torturers as well.

"I will ask you again: surrender peacefully and you will not be harmed" said the white haired young man, but his plea was met with no discernible reaction, not even a twitch caught his attention, and it was like this man was a machine.

For a few moments there was no action, no movement from any of the warriors inside the factory, but then without a single warning, the man sheathed his daggers at his hips, using some sort of makeshift metal scabbard to hold his daggers. But it wasn't a sign of surrender, no, as soon as he sheathed his daggers his hands travelled down toward two hidden compartments on his legs, in only a second he had sheathed his daggers and pulled out close to a dozen kunai. He quickly spun around and released them at the unsuspecting shinigami, they sunk deep into the surrounding unseated officer's chests and legs, not killing, simply distracting, for when he did a full rotation he had pulled his daggers free of the scabbard and charged. Moving faster than one would expect from a human, he moved for the leader of these warriors, the white haired young man, along the way cutting and disabling anyone who got in his way, shallow cuts to the arms and stomach while moving past to prevent them from striking while his back was turned.

He was confronted by one shinigami trying to stop him from reaching their leader, but a kunai in the stomach brought the man to his knees, which made his back a perfect jump point to attack the leader of this band of warriors. Jumping onto his back Max them leaped into the air and from there descended towards the teal eyes boy, daggers at the ready, he may appear to be a boy, but he knew that he was much more than what he appeared, he had learnt long ago never to judge something by their height or their appearance. As he descended the young white haired man tried to stab at him as he descended, intent on impaling him in his fall, but sadly he had been in positions like this before many times and he easily could counter it, as the sword was thrust forward he angled his right side forward. Then with his right handed blade he parried the white haired man strike to the side, while with his left dagger he reared back, and grinded it against the lengths of the shinimagi's sword as he fell towards its wielder, the white haired boy was shocked by the tactic, not only had he deflected the sword but also pulled of an effective yet reckless counter.

Toshiro leaned to the side to prevent the blade from cutting off his head, but a small nick appeared along his neck as the blade passed, the rogue landed behind the young captain, none worse for ware, but he didn't waste a millisecond in retaliating again. Spinning on his heels he rose quickly and with his right blade he swung at Toshiro, ready to sink the golden dagger into his head, but the Taicho ducked under the attack easily enough, the dagger passing mere inches above his head. Toshiro retaliated with one of his own, turning quickly he swung his sword in a wide arc at the unknown man, but his blade was blocked by his dagger, surprising him that it could withstand his Zanpokuto. The rogue quickly redirected the blade overhead before attacking again, stabbing forward with his right dagger he aimed for the boys stomach, but he twisted to the right and then swung his sword down towards his extended hand, but the rogue was fast. He dodged the blade by twisting out of the stab, the blade passing close to him as he did, and with the twist he brought both dagger above his head and swung them down at the shinigami captain.

Toshiro blocked the strikes easily enough, but there were many questions going through his head about this man, whoever this assassin was he was skilled, more skilled than an average stealth force operative, he had killed from what he could sense four, two were heavily wounded and in desperate need for medical attention. But from what he could sense from this man he didn't use reiatsu, which meant that he was using pure skill with those knives alone to carry him through, which was impossible to believe, that one man could fight against a shinigami, no matter their standing or rank and win or at least hold his ground. True there were some out there that could hold against them, but none that weren't spiritually aware or not capable of manipulating reiatsu, that was unheard of, there was no way they had ever been someone that could beat a shinigami just with skill alone and with no powers. It was a scary thought, if this one didn't have any power, then what would the others be capable of it they faced off against them?

"Captain!" he heard his lieutenant call out to him, the fight had been going on for a minute now, but there had to have been close to a hundred separate attacks and strikes alone carried out between the two of them.

"Stay back, I'll handle this." He ordered, looking around the see the apprehensive looks on his squads faces, they didn't like the fact that he was being fought on equal ground by someone who should be on his knees by now. He looked at the man and saw he was nothing but calm, although he couldn't see his face, he could tell from the way he stood and acted, calm and collected, not a single tic in movement if he was nervous or tired, he was well disciplined, more so than many shinigami he had the privilege of serving with.

"I'll give you one last chance to surrender, for if I am forced to fight at full strength it is likely you will not survive." Warned Toshiro, as much as he needed to use his shikai to fight this man he didn't want to, he was human and also was probably going to be their only lead in what was going on, but even if they did capture him, nothing short of torture will get him to utter a single breath.

The only response was the man to crouch low and prepare to fight, which was what Toshiro expected from him, he could tell he was not one for goading or speaking during combat, he was pure business and didn't speak unless it was important or necessary. Sighing he knew that he had no other choice now, he grabbed his sword with both hands and called upon his shikai, a massive increase in power could be felt from the young shinigami, one that even Max could feel.

"Reign over the Frosted Heavens: Hyōrinmaru!" a massive burst of energy and wind surrounded the young man, the air grew cold and a pressure began to press down on all those inside the factory, what kind of power was this.

Max had never felt anything so oppressing before, it was like the air around him had not only gotten colder but also heavier, just as the power stabilised the young man attacked, his sword in both hands, which had taken another shape, it was longer now and had a long chain connected to the end of the hilt. Max narrowly dodged the strike that would have decapitated him, leaning to the left he allowed the man to speed past him, as he turned to strike him in the back he watched as his target simply disappeared, he heard the displacement of air behind him and quickly he turned to block another strike. His arm groaned in protest at the force that was being pressed down upon it, he brought up his other arm to try and relive the strain, but it only served to aggravate the other limb as well, with some effort he was able to throw the sword off of his daggers, and lunged forward to strike. But again the white haired shinigami disappeared, this time he heard it appear above him, ready to bisect him in two, but with a sudden burst of speed he avoided the attack, leaping fifteen feet away from the dangerous white haired man, and as he landed he was attacked from three sides by seven of those swordsmen.

Four at his left, two at his right and one from behind, this was going to be tricky, quickly he backpedalled towards the one behind him and as the shinigami swung his sword Max flipped over him, as he did he hooked his blade around his neck to prevent escape and then as he landed stabbed him in the liver. Pulling the blade free he threw his body to the four approaching shinigami to his left, they tumbled to the ground as they tried to catch their wounded comrade, and as soon as he threw the body he moved on to the three on his right. And with a flurry of movement and swipes from his daggers he took them all down, the first had his blade parried and deflected upwards before the golden edge of the rogue's dagger slid across his stomach. When he attacked the second he struck the woman's blade hard enough to make the shinigami turn on her feet, leaving her back exposed to the dagger in the rogues right hand, Max was now facing the last one, he pulled his dagger free and charged. The man tried to meet him in the middle and swing this blade in an upward arc but a kicked to the swordsman's hands stopped that, he lost his grip on his sword and nearly lost it, but it was already over, two daggers pierced through both his shoulders and into his clavicles, the shinigami dropped to his knees and was rendered unconscious with a knee in the head.

Ripping his daggers free of his recent victim Max turned to the now recovered four, seeing a chance to take them off guard he did so, he rushed forward using the first wounded victim's back as a jump point, he sailed through the air in a crouching position. Then before the four could noticed the rogue landed on their point man, his body hitting the ground hard, the rogue had both his daggers over his chest and when he forced the man into the dirt he attacked the two at his side, both daggers cutting into their chests and forcing them to the ground in pain. The last one attacked swinging his sword to decapitate the rogue, but a quick duck prevented that from happening, then two more people appeared by his side, ready to pierce him, seeing no choice but to didge he leapt away from the two and leaving the fourth unharmed. He landed a few feet away from them and without a single moment of respite he was attacked again, looking out of the corner of his left eye he saw the white haired man charging him, sword poised to pierce his heart, bringing both his daggers up over his chest as a makeshift shield he intended to block the strike as best he could. The tip of his sword connected with the flat side of his blade, and the force was tremendous, he was now skidding along the dirt floor and the young man was showing no signs that his presence was offering any resistance.

Soon his body slammed into an old piece of machinery, he felt his daggers press into his chest and bruise his ribs, he tried to push his blades forward and the sword away but he was having little luck, and if he wasn't careful the blade will slide off the daggers and into his chest. He was in a bind here, he couldn't beat this guy, way too powerful for him, his only choice was to escape, those gnomes were likely gone by now along with the mirror, so he had to just get out of here and use his hearthstone when he got out of dodge. Just as he was planning this out the white haired captain revealed not only was he a powerful warrior, but also a wielder of magic, his blade began to ice over and the air grew very cold, and then his own daggers began to freeze and then it moved up his arm like some sort of ice elemental snake. This was not good, get tried to move his arms but he couldn't even budge them; soon his entire chest was encased in ice, it moved along the wall and anchored him to it and then it spread to his legs, soon the young man withdrew his sword and gazed at the encased rogue almost in boredom.

"It didn't have to end like this, people are dead and many are hurt, this could have been resolved peacefully." Said Toshiro, looking over to his wounded soldiers and the three dead stealth force operatives around the room; this had been a savage undertaking, one that cost them more than they should against a normal human.

There was no response from the man, all he did was staring into his teal eyes, no movement from the unknown man what-so-ever, Toshiro narrowed his eyes as it non-responsiveness.

"Why did you attack our men?" asked Toshiro

Again no response, he knew that he wasn't one for interrogation but still these questions should at least get him some answers, maybe a retort or at least a reply saying he would get nothing out of him, but this silence was different, he didn't known if it was reassignment of being captured or resistance to it. Just as he was about to ask another question six people just appeared, the three captains and Lieutenants of the second, sixth and eighth divisions, Toshiro moved off to meet them and before he could speak Sui-Feng beat him to the punch.

"Captain Hitsuguya" said Sui-Feng; she paced up towards him to ask the obvious question "Where is he?"

He simply looked over his shoulder to the man, most of his body was encased in ice save for his heaf and part of his right leg, he was staring aimlessly ahead of himself, Sui-Feng along with her lieutenant moved toward him; she looked around at the carnage that seemed to have taken place here. She could see three of her stealth force operatives dead and the other five on the ground being treated for their injuries, along with a dozen or so wounded officers from the tenths, it was shocking to see someone be able to take on all these shinigami before being incapacitated. She stood in front of him now, she was surprised by his armour and his weapons, she had never seen anything like them before, their design and material completely foreign, she stared into his emotionless mask and spoke.

"Where are the others?" she demanded from him, he said nothing, simply staring at her through his skull mask.

"We know that there were more of you here, where are they?" Again no answer, she narrowed her eyes at him and her hand grasped the hilt of her sword.

"Speak! Where are they?" Sui-Feng slowly drew her sword and let the metal hiss against her sheath, when she finally drew her short sword she moved towards the rogue and with a dark scowl and tone she spoke again. "You will speak, one way or another, you can save yourself some unnecessary pain if you tell me what I want to know."

Again there was no response from the skull faced man, he stared at her with unblinking eyes, she grew irritated quickly by his silence and then she drew back her sword and watched him closely, then without warning she swung her blade at his neck.

"Sui-Feng!" called out Shunsei, watching at the commander of the stealth force attacked the prisoner, the blade neared its target and as it did the man did nothing, not a single tic or twitch was made, whether he thought she was bluffing or that he was good as dead was unknown. Soon the blade was an inch from his neck, and then there was a feint smell of blood in the air, they looked on to see that Sui-Feng had swung her blade and it had cut into his neck, but only a small sliver of blood emerged from the shallow cut on his neck. And from that entire action he did not squirm, move or even utter a single breath, he simply watched her with empty eyes, and it was then that Sui-Feng knew what type of man this was, a man who feared not death or pain, but failing. He would never talk, he would take as much pain and suffering as he could before the end and during that time he would kill himself off before he relented to them, he was an indomitable will and when that was broken he would make sure no one claimed what was guarded within.

"Carve him out of the ice, were taking him back to the Seireitei." Ordered Sui-Feng, before sheathing her sword and walking off towards the other captains.

"Yes Captain!"

"Mind telling us what that was about?" asked Toshiro, he along with some of the captains were interested in what that feint of her was meant to accomplish.

"I was testing him, seeing how much resolve he has, and from what I can surmise from just that little demonstration, he is a hard bred killer with little to no fear." She said, looking at the small captain before turning to address the other two "He won't say a single word to us, he'll likely try and kill himself before he gives up any information to us"

"That's too bad, we still need to get information out of him, he's our only lead" said Toshiro

"What about the other two?" asked Shunsui

"Other two? When I arrived there was no one else here." Said Toshiro, earning some surprised looks from the three captains; they were told correctly that there were two other people here.

"We were told that there were two others here, from what the operative said they found them in a small room speaking to one another and when Sui-Feng's men were about to apprehend them they were attacked by that man over there" said Byakuya

"No, when my men entered we found no signs of anyone else here, they would have found them." Said Toshiro "There's no way they could have gotten past us, even in the chaos, they must…"

Toshiro stopped midsentence, the man didn't attack just to save them, he also did it to let them escape, and he stayed here and fought them off so that the other two could escape without notice, but how? What method could have they used to escape without leaving this building.

"They must have opened a portal and escaped" said Toshiro

"Then all this was a distraction in order to let them escape." said Byakuya

"One hell of a distraction." Said Renji, looking over some of the wounded, many still needed to have the projectile pulled out and their wounds stitched up and healed.

"Heh, this guy doesn't look so tough, your people must be pretty weak to not be able to beat him" said Omaeda, earning some hidden glares from the tenth division members that were treating the wounded, and a scathing retort from Rangiku Matsumoto.

"Your men didn't do any better against him, so don't act like you're any better than us." She replied heatedly, crossing her arms over her chest as she said it.

"Whatever, hey you" Omaeda said first to the voluptuous lieutenant before going on to speaking with the prisoner. "What's with the getup, you think you can scare me with those skulls? You think I'm a coward?"

The rogue didn't respond, instead he was more focused on gathering as much Intel as he could on these new adversaries and then escaping this little ice tomb before returning back to the Garmak, he could see that the men carving him out of the ice were taking extra care not to shatter his container. But just because he didn't use magic, didn't mean he didn't have something on him that did, something he acquired, slowly he began to channel the power of the medallion around his neck, specially designed and enchanted to be used to remove anything that bars the wielder. It works by flooding the surrounding prison with arcane energy and forcing it to do what the imprisoned wishes it to, when the command is finished the spell that has ensnared him is removed, it matters not what it is; it will wither roots, calm raging winds, dispel magical shackles or barriers and even shatter cages of ice.

"Well? Do you think I'm a coward?" barked Omaeda, Max continued to ignore him as best he could, he was annoying and from what he could tell he was part of the same group as these assassins, he knew not to judge a man by his cover but still his annoying attitude made it hard to do so.

"Please, shut up, I just want to go home and get a drink and then get some sleep, and your blabbering is giving me a headache." Said Rangiku, rubbing her temple before looking up at the encased man, having not taken his eyes off wherever he was staring. "Not much of a talker are you?"

No response

"Figured as much" she said, before looking over to the other shinigami who were still treating the wounded, she didn't like it, they had been hurt quite badly, their advanced resistance would keep them alive but because of that the pain would likely be unbearable. "Do you even care that a lot of good people are hurt? Your human aren't you? How can you condone sending souls to oblivion without any remorse or shame?"

No response, Rangiku tsk'ed at his silence, maybe these people were as heartless as she had heard from some of the people in the twelfth division, not caring who they killed or why.

"**Xar il romath da tidesbi**" said the man, in a dark disturbing language, Rangiku looked up at him and saw him looking right at her; the men carving him out of the ice stopped their work to look up at the man. Those words that he spoke, they were unknown to them but they felt the power behind them, it was a language that was not meant to be heard by innocent ears, it was a dark tongue that was used by something just as twisted.

"What the hell was that?" shouted Omaeda, getting slightly angry thinking it was some sort of insult in this rogues language "You making fun of me punk!"

Under his mask Max frowned, these people, whoever they were they were definitely not part of the Legion, no matter who they were, speaking Eredun and that insult would have had him killed in an instant, insulting their god is not a thing to do if you want to survive. So if they weren't part of the Legion, then who where they, they were dressed in garb different to this world but they carried swords that seemed to be similar to this cultures weapons, and their magic and abilities are not something one would see in the legion. No corruption or taint could be seen, and no depictions or glyphs showing their allegiance could be seen on their weapons or clothing, they were something else, maybe some sort of force that was part of this world. But they were definitely not human, when he fought the boy he didn't feel right, that pressure was otherworldly, but the thing was he felt it from those creatures as well, and from what they have been informed they were spirits, so that meant these things were also spirits.

What the hell was going on here? Could they be after those other creatures? There had to be more to this than he is realising, he had to escape there was no more time left for him to think about this, he had to return to the fleet and inform them that they may be dealing with something more than just tainted spirits.

"What's going on?" questioned Sui-Feng, skulking up to Omaeda along with the other captain behind her.

"This punk just insulted me!" he roared, casting an angry glare at the trapped rogue.

"How would you know? I didn't understand a word of what he said" said Rangiku

"What did he say?" ordered Sui-Feng

"**Xar il romath da…**" said the rogue from his prison, those dark evil words coming from his mouth made the captain look at him in surprise, even though he spoke with little emotion, those words were dark and evil, and just as he spoke them many cracks formed along the surface of the ice as an unknown blue glow appeared from within the ice prison **"…tidesbi**"

A massive explosion of ice and mist occurred from where the man was held captive, the captains and all surrounding warriors shielded their eyes from the explosion, they were blinded for a moment and when they looked back to where he was, he had disappeared from sight. They all looked around desperately for him, he was their only lead on what was going on here, if he escaped then they were no more closer to finding out who these people were, if they lost him they might risk further incident in the future.

"Up there!" shouted one of the man, pointing to the roof, his fingers pointed to an open bay window at the top of the building, where the rogue was escaping through, he cast one last glance at them before leaping out of the window and into the darkness.

"Don't let him escape!" shouted Sui-Feng, before she along with everyone else inside went after him, they couldn't let him escape he was to valuable.

* * *

**Twelve miles away, unknown cave in Yamaguchi Prefecture**

After the battle at the factory the forces met only for a few minutes to alert everyone that they would be separating immediately, they were to move off to their respective areas and begin their search in the morning, after they rested up and got something to eat. They all departed in every direction, going as fast as their feet could carry them, which was much easier when you're not carrying forty pounds of armour and weaponry, they had covered a large distance from the factory. Which was good, they realised that their close proximity to one another must have caused those spirits to converge on them, but since they were now in smaller numbers they could work with impunity without having to worry about being attacked by a large army.

Team fifteen had left the battlefield an hour ago, they had settled down in a small cave system to rest for the night and then move on their patrol route in the morning, currently Mojin and Morgana were on guard duty while the others rested, sleeping against a rock wall was a certain young Shaman. She was tossing and turning in her sleep, finding it hard to get any rest, she was having a dream, but it was more of a nightmare than anything else, but a nightmare that foreshadowed the future, and a coming war in heaven.

* * *

_She could see a vast city below her, thousands of buildings stretched out across the verdant land that stretched across the horizon, it was a megalopolis of white stone buildings and orange tiled roofing, and monolithic walls stretched into the sky and surrounded the massive city protecting it from anything that may attack. So grand and large it was that to walk from one side to the other may take one person more than a week to accomplish, she could see thousands of people below walking and going about their daily lives, not a care in the world it would seem._

_But then the sky turned dark and the land below was engulfed in chaos, fire and ruined structures littered the ground below, many pillars of blue flame engulf the city and from them sprout warriors cloaked in white and wielded powers beyond imagining. They kill and butcher all those around them without mercy, some smiled and laughed as they did it, the killing and the blood was everywhere, she could see the white clothed warriors fighting against others in black, many fell to them but there were a few that stood against their impressive might with no fear._

_She could make out several of them, a man with long blonde hair with a dark shadow over his face he wore black robes with a white cloak over his back, also had a long single edge curved blade in hand, he walked through the carnage towards the man who caused it, she heard him speak to the man for only a moment._

_The man that had killed his way through the people had long, dark hair arranged into five fanned-out spikes, and unusual teeth that alternate between black and white. His upper facial features, including his eyes, are covered by a smooth mask with a reflective surface._

"_Don't expect to leave this place alive, Quincy." Uttered the blonde haired man darkly_

_Another battle far off in the distance she saw a battle between a similar duo, one of white and another of black, one wielded two large swords while the other used a simple pistol to fight against him, how he was expecting the fight against him she did not know. The man with the swords wore a large conical straw hat and had a pink flowered lady robe over his shoulders, and the other man wore a simple white uniform and had glasses._

_The battle between them was fierce, both trying to land a blow, the first went to the man with the glasses, his gun shooting not bullets but an unknown energy projectile into the other man's face, which struck his eye in a large spray of blood. Even though his wound looked serious he did not stop smiling and said_

"_Oh my…. I tried acting calm, but I'm pretty shaken, you know, alright you got me" the other man did not reply, his body had wings and a halo of white light above his head, where they paladins?_

_Another shift in the battlefield, she was standing before another group of combatants, this time a man and a woman, she has long, dark hair and dark eyes. She wore a typical white uniform, which had an unknown symbol etched into the hooded cloak and a knee-length trench coat, as well as black boots. She also wears a dark mask that obscures the lower half of its face and features five spikes running down its centre._

_While the man wore similar clothing to the other two combatants black clothing with a white cloak, he had long black hair with a hairpiece at the back of his head. He was heavily wounded and his cloths were torn much more than his body, around were many pedals that continually cut into his flesh, they circled above the woman and many would fly down and cut into the defenceless man's flesh. He fell to the ground in a heap, blood pooling around him as he struggled to rise to his feet, but _

_"There is nothing left you can do, is there?" she asked rhetorically, looking down at him with little care or pity "There is no way you could beat your own Bankai in Shikai."_

_Then from above another man with red hair tied in a top knot attacked, he swung down his segmented sword at the woman, who looked at him from the corner of her eye, while he roared at her._

_"A bastard like you has no right to use Sebonzakura!" as he swung down his sword a massive explosion of dust and stone concealed them from sight, when it cleared it showed the Quincy woman holding back his blade with only her unprotected forearm._

_When his attack failed the other white cloaked man tried to strike from behind, he used an ability that was similar to the one that the Quincy was using, pink petals flowed out from his sword and shot towards her, but she stopped them with her own. Then with a gesture of her hand her 'Senbonzakura' attacked the wounded man, a massive stream struck him and as if passed he began to fall forward only to be struck again by another wave of the razor sharp pink petals. He was knocked into a stone wall, they continued to slam into his body, digging itself deep into the stone, he was completely consumed by the attack, giving no chance to defend himself or given a moment respite from what was likely the most painful of ways to die._

_"Stop this….!" shouted the man, rising to his feet once more to protect the other man, but she ignored his command and continued to pour on the attack, blood flowed freely from the crater and parts of the man could be seen through the cloud of petals "Stop!"_

_He rose to his feet and readied his weapon and as he was about to utter a phrase he was violently cast aside by another attacker, a large masked man kicked him with both feet and sent him sailing from the tower and into the city below, tearing through buildings from the force._

_"Fool, he was just about to use his Bankai" said the female Quincy, reprimanding the other one, who didn't appear to understand what she was going on about. "You should have let me steal it."_

_She flew off again, this time to a massively demolished area, the ruins of dozens of buildings could be seen all around, standing there were three men, two were white clothed individuals while the other was an elderly man with only one arm. The white clothed man has a long face with a broad chin and pronounced cheekbones, long black hair that reaches to his lower back, and reddish-brown eyes with thin eyebrows. He has well-kept mutton chops that connect with a moustache, but is otherwise clean-shaven._

_Standing against him was an elderly man with a long white beard and a charred sword, he was drenched in sweat and looked weary, he stood there for several moments with nothing happening, and then he coughs up blood and soon the upper part of his body fall away from the rest, cut in half from shoulder to waist. He landed on the ground with a thud, the rest of his body remained rigid and in a standing position, the man who had killed him began to berate the fallen with these words._

"_You the so-called elder of the shinigami, it's a pitiful sight, seeing you die like this." He said with some contempt "Yamamoto Shigekuni."_

_The scene shifted forward once more, the city was being torn apart, and people were screaming calling for help, while soldiers in white and masks destroyed and slaughtered their way across the entire city. No one able to withstand their might, there was nothing anyone that could stop them; it was the end of this place there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Then from above the city a massive explosion occurred, and from it she sense something, power, great power, power that felt familiar, dark and dangerous, yet good and righteous. She could feel it washing across her as she gazed up at the explosion, she could see someone above, standing there in the clouds he was motionless for only a few moment before he disappeared in a sudden burst of speed, her world shifted around her._

"_I don't have much time…." said the man she saw previously fighting against the female Quincy, he was a man torn apart and without chance of survival, blood caked the crater he resided within and she could see he could barely keep himself conscious, and from his words he would not be for long before he finally succumb to his wounds. "As a captain of the Gotei thirteen… rendered helpless by these malevolent beings that trespass Soul Society… resulting in the massacre of all these warriors… leaving nothing but an empty void in the families of my subordinates…"_

_She slowly approached the man that had just appeared from the sky, he was gazing into the crater where the man was imbedded, she could not see his face, but she could see his form from a great distance and hear the voice of the man as he spoke to him._

"_Without a doubt, facing death's doorstep under these circumstances… brings a humiliation that echoes throughout every fibre of my being, if that weren't humbling enough, now you, a human boy…"_

_She could see long black tattered robes; his entire body was covered in black, he was tall, taller than her._

"_Never meant to tread on this battlefield…" _

_She could feel his power, it was mighty, greater than even the greatest warriors in the seventh fleet, she could see his sword in his hand, a long dark blade that absorbed the light from around him, three protrusions along the blunt edge and a long black chain attacked to the end of the hilt._

"_Never meant to be here…"_

_She quickened her pace as she never took her gaze from him, his body marred with blood and grit; he had been in battle but appeared to care not for his injuries, whether it was ignorance or sheer determination of will, she did not know._

_"In the end, please indulge this one last request"_

_She could see the orange hair. _

"_From this contemptible man before you, for having to place this burden on your shoulders"_

_She stood before him now, lightning overshadowing his form, she could see him now for all his glory, the man she had seen in her dreams, the man that fought against the Deceiver, it was the boy that would become that man. She could see it in his eyes, the power, the will, and the strength to overcome any obstacle, the indomitable spirit that pushed one forward to length and bound beyond what they were meant to be._

"_Please." Said the man "Protect Soul Society, Kurosaki Ichigo"_

_His name, the name of the man that will end it for all, the man who will destroy the darkness, who will stop the chaos, who will bring back the light and forever bring order to this disordered universe: Kurosaki Ichigo._

* * *

**Oh my god that was pretty epic wasn't it, epic foreshadowing on Draka's part, hope you like it and as you now know this will take place during the Thousand Year Blood War Arc.**


	5. Act 1, Chapter 04: Battlelines are Drawn

**Hello everyone, sorry for the long delay, but you know when you are righting you go where the muses take you and they have been taking me to the very popular Transcendence story, but I relent that I have missed this story and couldn't see it without being updated. Do not worry there are still chapters being beta-read by my glorious Beta-reader Zaralann. Who is having some difficulty due to some matters in his daily life, matters that I wish not to discuss and display openly.**

**Now I would like to thank you for being patient with me, as I am kind of a last bastard for not updating, but please I promise to try and do better in the future.**

**Now on with the reviews.**

**Luffy99: One piece would be a great setting for this story, but as for them taking the pirates along with them, probably not; after all Luffy needs to find One Piece and most other pirates aren't that really adventurous or caring to the plight of others. **

**The Rogue who fought against Hitsuguya is name Maxwell Sutherlin, he is an Agent is SI:7 (Stormwind Intelligence) as for him taking on so many shinigami, well in my opinion most shinigami are only stronger than a human, maybe twice as strong as a normal human. And SI:7 agents are practically the ultimate killing machines when it comes to assassination and subterfuge, so the only thing that could hold against him is probably a high ranked officer. **

**But remember the guys that are on the planet are the best of the best in the fleet, they are some of the strongest there, some are powerful and others are highly skilled, and they can handle many situations that they come across. But they can only do so much, after all Maxwell didn't stand a chance against Toshiro when he activated his Shikai and that was when he had the limiter on him, like all high level shinigami that go to the living world. Also rogues don't fight fair, their dirty and use every trick to win, and most of the time they can bring down a lot stronger opponents than them.**

**I was thinking about saving Yamamoto but I don't know yet, I'll think about it when I arrive at that point in time and weight up the options, also sorry for not updating your favourite story in so long.**

**Ultima-owner: Yep, that is why every soldier is given one when going out into the field**

**Saddas74: Yeah, it thought this you guys would need an idea on how some of those powers work, after all the Light is basically a manifestation of all that is good, it cleanses the hollow and leaves the pure soul who can go to heaven because he feels content. As for the assassin part, yeah that was one of my finest works. As for Draga's dream, well you have to put that into context of the person who was looking at it, if you didn't know bleach and you read that would you understand what was being said, highly unlikely, they gave her the details but she doesn't know what half of it actually means. I hope you enjoy the next chapter to see where this is going.**

**Leapinglemur: He can match up when they don't release their sword and if he doesn't have fifty other shinigami breathing down his throat. But still he did well before he was captured, oh the next meeting, it will be even more epic, I promise, there will be ass kicking on both sides of the firing line. And I'm glad you understand my reasoning.**

**Tarrangar: Ah yes, Eragorn, I know that movie, not familiar with the books but the premise, it could work, the Ranger Chronicles will need to be looked into, the Icemark chronicles, vampires, werewolves, zombies all working together for a common cause, my god it's like Twilight but not for pussies. The Black Magician, yeah read into that an it could be a good place for some major plot development regarding possible legion stronghold, where the last of humans are fighting off the demons. Also Dark Mage looks interesting still have to read it thought like so many other Manga and anime's things, but still this could work. Thank you for the suggestions, they will be perfect to put in here.**

**I would like to thank you all for reviewing and now please read and be enthralled by my story.**

* * *

**United Against the Legion of Flames**

**Chapter 04: The Battle-lines are drawn**

* * *

**Soul Society, 1st Division**

_**Two days after Yamaguchi Incident**_

The Taich'ōs entered the meeting hall once more.

Two days have passed since their ill-fated attempt to locate the anomalies that assaulted the Yamaguchi province, which resulted in several casualties and many injuries to their side and none to the enemies. There had been no reports issued over the incident as of yet. Many aside from the higher ranking Officers knew what was really going on, while the others lower ranked and unranked Officers believe that the enemy that they came in contact with was an Arrancar, which was far from the truth as it could be.

The Taichōs had returned three hours ago after they completed their main sweep of the province and most of the southern region of Japan and were unable to locate any of the anomalous signatures. But only an hour after they departed were they bringing back the wounded and dead. Only eight had been killed in the ensuing battle, but dozens had been wounded, some were superficial, while many others were in much more severe condition. The Forth Division had its hands full trying to treat so many wounded on such short noticed.

But it was only then that the wounded were brought back, no other injuries or dead after the first group was sent through, which was a blessing more than any of them could have asked for.

* * *

The sound of the Sōtaichō's cane striking the floor made it known that the meeting has begun. The Taichōs moved into their respective positions and waited for the meeting to be officials called to order.

"This meeting has been called to order." Said Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto. His gravelly voice echoing across the meeting hall and overshadowing all other noises that may be present. "I have called you here so we may all discuss the events that occurred two days beforehand, Suì-Fēng Taichō."

"Hai." She said before taking a step forward and taking the main floor. "When our operation began we split out forces into separate search parties: the stealth force covered a wide area to locate any targets that were waiting in ambush. While this occurred, the other three Divisions took three separated routes to locate any possible fleeing individuals." She continued. "When nine of my unranked officers infiltrated a small warehouse near the target area they found two unknown individuals inside and a third who was able to remain undetected by them."

"What can you tell us about these individuals?" Asked Ukitake, he was probably the only one who wanted this to end on a more peaceful grounds, but from the amount that were brought back to be either buried or treated, he knew now that a peaceful solution was fleeting.

"As reported, by the only conscious member of the team: The first two appeared to be two short individuals of approximately three feet in height, one male and the other female. The male had green hair and a beard while the female had pink hair, and the third appeared to be an assassin garbed in unknown armour and weapons." Reported Suì-Fēng, some of the Taichōs wondered how a three foot tall person could cause such harm to their soldiers with _such_ ease.

"If these people were able to injure your men then they must be quite formidable." Said Rose.

That sentiment was shared with many of the other Taichōs, especially Byakuya, Suì-Fēng and Toshiro, who all personally fought against the man in question.

"It was only the assassin that attacked us, the other two escaped while he fought my men." Said Suì-Fēng.

Those words left a bitter taste in her mouth. She strived to make her Division an efficient fighting force, but the fact a single person and a human at that was able to kill and wound her personally was not just an affront to her command but also her skill as a Taichō.

"One man took down nine of your men? Maybe you're not training them hard enough?" Said Kensai, his words just beneath a sneer.

There was a rivalry between the two Taichōs ever since Kensei returned to his Taichō's position. It was obvious she didn't care for him due to his status as a Visored. But that was small compared to her dislike to the man personally. She saw him almost as a rival to her. With his skill and Zanpakutō and because of his personality she disliked him. But mostly because he was unprofessional in his duties when compared to her.

"My men are the best; you will do to remember that!" Bit back Suì-Fēng.

She glared at him and with an unspoken gesture was goading him into a fight... One he probably would have taken had the Sōtaichō not interfered.

"Enough! This is an important matter; leave your personal feelings aside!" Barked Yamamoto, while releasing some Reiatsu to get the two Taichōs to remember their place.

As soldiers, not children!

They both backed off from one another but the glare remained between the two. Seeing as Suì-Fēng had said her piece, the youngest captain decided to say his own piece to keep the meeting going.

"The man was highly trained, very skilled with those daggers of his. In fact he was nearly able to wound me, and hold me off with my Shikai for a short time." Said Toshiro, which surprised some.

Even though he is the youngest Taichō in the history of soul society, it didn't mean he was the weakest. So a normal human being able to hold their own against him was a testament to his skill as a warrior.

"What happened to him?" Asked Shinji.

"We captured him, but he was able to escape. From there we tried to hunt him down and recapture him, but it was far from easy." replied Toshiro.

* * *

_**Two Days ago**_

* * *

_Suì-Fēng leapt from tree branch to tree branch, following the elusive assassin that had escaped their clutches. She along with nearly every single Shinigami was after this man. How he was able to elude them all was a mystery! _

_Even the most skilled operative in the Onmitsukidō, save for herself and Yoruichi Shihoin, couldn't elude detection so easily. But the fact was that he was able to escape on foot and without the ability to perform Shunpo or anything that could allow him to move faster than a normal human... Which was almost an impossible feat, and hard to believe he could elude capture. _

_If this assassin was able to elude them this easily then the others that were here before them may be just as skilled, maybe even more so._

_She hadn't seen the full report on what these things were capable of, and that made them very dangerous. Without knowing what an enemy is capable of can make them all the more lethal. If they didn't know what to expect then they were probably as good as dead when facing them. _

_Only someone at Fukutaichō or Taichō level could stand a chance against them completely unaware of their combat abilities and be prepared for what they throw at them. _

_But still that was only a marginal improvement on winning against them. They had proven time and time again just how capable they are at fighting. A Menos Grande taken down by someone with the raw power of the tenth seat... Ridiculous! True, it was possible but_ highly_ unlikely! But from the slaughter they saw on that battlefield, there was no way they could have walked out of that without a single casualty._

* * *

_As Suì-Fēng landed on another branch, she noticed a blur pass below her. A figure running between the shadows of the trees. _

_He must be using the darkness to evade capture, if he could use the shadows to hide himself from them. Then that would explain how he was eluding capture. _

_She took off following after him. _

_She leapt from branch to branch searching for him below. She noticed several plants swaying as she advanced, as well as indication in the mud that showed he was moving in this general direction. She could see the fainted signs of where he was going. He was moving north, likely to get away from them as fast as possible and escape within the safety of the nearby town where he could elude them and then escape entirely. _

_She wasn't going to let that happen! _

_She picked up her pace, her eyes darting the terrain below. As soon as her foot touched the next branch her instinct told her to stop. She did so and was grateful she did. Shooting up from the canopy below the branch was a barrage of daggers, they passed only inches from her face, and would have struck her had she not stopped. But the danger was not just the dagger in front of her. _

_She glanced behind her when she heard to most inaudible thud a person could make when using the side of the tree as a jump point, and she noticed the man she had been chasing was now behind her with his dagger poised to strike her in the back. _

_With a backward swing the Rogue attacked. _

_Suì-Fēng used Shunpo to evade the strike easily, appearing on another branch a few feet away. She looked at the assassin as he landed on the branch she was previously perched on. It looks like this one is more skilled then she gave him credit for. She guessed that he knew about her presence and lured her to somewhere where he could ambush her, and based on how he did, she was almost impressed. But her irritation for nearly falling into his trap overruled that content feeling greatly. _

_The man did nothing but looked at her like a hawk and assessed her; he was likely sizing her up for the inevitable fight, which she would gladly take him up on. He gripped his daggers tightly, one in reverse grip and the other in a normal one. He then twisted around unexpectedly and was shrouded in a shadowy mist. _

_He was completely hidden from view and when the mist began to disappear the man had vanished. In that moment of surprise she heard something behind her and noticed from her right side a dagger moving to stab her in the kidneys._

_Quickly pulling her sword from her sheath she was able to halt the dagger, but was unable to stop the other knife from cutting a deep gouge into her back. She stifled a scream of pain before she was forced to defend herself from another attack. _

_The Rogue had pulled his dagger away from her sword and did a full rotation and tried to strike from her other side. _

_She ducked under the attack and ignored her back that flared with pain and tried to retaliate. She swung her blade in a wide arc backward at him. He blocked the strike with his left dagger that was positioned over his chest and with his right he moved to pierce her skull. _

_But with a burst of movement she leaned away and back flipped to safety, kicking his dagger off course and landed on another branch several metres away. When she landed in the crouch she saw the man ready his daggers for the next attack. _

_He had actually been able to get behind her and wound her... _

_He was able to take her off guard!_

_She cursed herself for taking this one so lightly. He was able to sneak up of her twice and on second attempt actually wound her! _

_The first shouldn't have happened! _

_The second shouldn't have happened and end with her being wounded! _

_She wasn't taking this one seriously and she now was paying for it. He couldn't overpower her, even with the limiter currently in place she could still beat him, but he could still keep up with her in her sealed state... Which meant she would likely need to use her Shikai to fight this one. _

_She moved to release when two shinigami appeared in their vicinity._

"_Suì-Fēng-Taichō!" One said. _

_Before turning to see the man they were chasing standing there. Without hesitation they attacked him, believing their skill adequate enough to defeat him, but before they could realise or be warned by Suì-Fēng, they were already finished._

_The first Shinigami tried to stab him, but his blade was knocked aside and then he had his stomach and chest cut into by the other blade. Then the second one attacked as he passed his wounded comrade, not even perturbed that he failed. He swung his Zanpakutō at the Rogue and his blade was halted almost instantly. Then with his other dagger he cut Shinigami's wrist and when he dropped his sword, the Rogue sheathed his dagger and used his foot to kick the sword back up to him. _

_The Rogue grabbed hold of the hilt and spinning to a hundred and eighty degree angle he buried the blade into the unranked officers stomach, before doing another one eighty turn back the way he came and kicking him off the branch and to the ground where his fellow comrade was still falling towards._

_Just as he finished the last Shinigami six more turned up. _

_Knowing that he was in a situation he couldn't win he bolted as fast as he could, leaping from branch to branch and used very chaotic manoeuvres he was able to keep them from trying to lash out with any Kunai or Kidō they had in their arsenal. _

_Suì-Fēng was on his tail the moment he took off and behind her were now a dozen other Shinigami. _

_Again she was surprised by this man. _

_Not only have he dispatched two of their own with very apparent ease but he also had an unknown art that made him able to manipulate and move within the shadows. Which made their current location his territory, but since he wasn't attacking them directly or setting up traps meant he was in a situation he knew he couldn't handle. All they need to do now was keep up with him and wear him down before capturing him._

_They hounded him continuously, throwing Kunai and any low-level Kidō at him at every turn, not to kill of course, he was too valuable to be killed by a stray shot and even if it was a killing shot he still was able to get around the attacks like they were nothing. Either ducking or leaning away at the right moment._

* * *

_Just as Maxwell landed on another branch he was attacked from above. He didn't even glance up before he dodged to the side and landed on a lower hanging branch, where he was a moment ago was Fukutaichō Rangiku Matsumoto. Her short cut blonde hair only reaching to her shoulders. Her sword had pierced through the trunk where the Rogue had been just a moment ago. _

_Then from the from the canopy behind him Renji Arabai jumped out, and with a chant he released his Shikai._

"_**Hoero: Zabimaru**__!" The red haired Fukutaichō all but cheered... _

_Alerting the Rogue to his presence and allowing him to retaliate. _

_Leaping away from the attack of the now segmented blade, the Rogue back-flipped towards Renji and twisted in the air to face him. As Renji tried to manipulate his weapon's trajectory against the approaching foe, the Rogue was able to alter his position and flight in mid-air and remain unharmed. As he descended down towards the Fukutaichō, Suì-Fēng made her move and tried to strike._

"_**Jinteki Shakusetsu: Suzumebachi**__!" Said Sui-Feng, leaping towards the Rogue. _

_Her short sword turned into an elbow length bracer of black and gold with a golden finger extension on her middle finger. The Rogue seeing her attack twisted around the face and brought up both his daggers to halt the deadly sting of her Shikai. As soon as the strike hit Max was knocked away by a great amount of force. He went sailing through the tree lines and narrowly dodging the branches along his path. Eventually he stopped thanks to a single branch above him, sinking his dagger into it. He used his momentum to plant himself on top of it, but not a second longer was he assailed from all sides again, dozens were around him and moving in for the kill._

_Max furrowed his brow in annoyance. _

_Even with all his training and skill, fighting off this many powerful opponents was an impossible thing to do. He may be one of the Best in SI:7 and the seventh fleet, but he couldn't handle this type of threat alone and in unfamiliar territory. _

_He had to escape and use the Hearthstone. _

_He saw little chance of using it at the moment, so his only choice was to fight his way out of here and hope his skill was enough. _

_The first leapt at him from the front, her sword poised to skewer him where he stood, but he would have none of that. Leaping back and using the tree face behind him as a jump point, he avoided the strike easily and leapt towards the surprised Shinigami. He landed on her shoulder and used it to leap towards another attacker, who had his sword raised overhead and ready to bring it down. But the quick and unexpected manoeuvre by Max prevented his sword from descending forward, because he pushed it backward and behind the back of the now vulnerable Shinigami. With one dagger holding the blade against its wielders back and the other inching closer to his exposed side there was nothing the poor man could do. _

_With him dispatched Max turned towards his next target. _

_A burly man coming from his right. _

_Twisting around the blades thrust he deflected the attack to his side and then with his other dagger he cut a deep gash along the man's chest before kicking him in the side and off the branch._

_Another attacked from his right hand side and tried to bisect him in two. Taking a step back the attack was avoided, and with his boot Max planted it on the blunt edge of the sword and using it and the man as a ramp and a jump point to his next three victims and his escape route. _

_Leaping from the man he sailed through the air like an eagle and as he did he flipped forward and sent a hail of knives at those behind him, not to kill just to slow down. Most of the projectiles hit the legs and shoulder, while some found their way into their stomachs and backs. He did a full forward rotation and with both his daggers back in his hands he attacked the group ahead of him. Two were side by side and the third was behind them both, he landed on the cluster of branches and made his attack._

_The three readied their weapons and the Rogue had his sense on high alert. First he attacked the one to his right hand side, parrying away his blade with his right dagger, before moving on to the one on his left by parrying his blade with his left, then following up by cutting into his side with his right dagger. Once the man was wounded he returned to the one on his right, blocking the second strike with the same dagger as before and using his left dagger to cut into his stomach, and ended with having his back facing the Shinigami. He crouched down and then using his daggers he sunk them into Shinigami's shoulder and used them to pull him over head and slam him into the ground in front of him. _

_Ripping his daggers free from the downed Shinigami he turned to the last one still able to move on his own accord. He tried to stab Max through the chest, but as he trusted the sword forward the Rogue ducked to the side and twisted into his guard. Using his dagger he sunk it into the Shinigami's side before head-butting him with the back of his skull. The man tumbled to the ground and Max was beset by many others in the short time it took him to dispatch those three. He didn't have time to hold them off nor did he want to. If he stayed put to long her would be killed, whether by overwhelming numbers or by those stronger opponents._

_He took to the branches once more, evading as many as them as he could, occasionally removing anyone from his path. A quick slice along the leg or side would be sufficient enough to remove them from combat. _

_These people were not his enemies; that he knew for sure; likely the inhabitants took notice of them and were trying to see what was going on. Although he had no say in how things went on this world, he would try not to kill anyone as he tried to escape. They were not Demons or Servants of the Legion, and this means that they were innocent and therefore not meant to meet their end to his blades. He would escape and warn his superiors of the situation and see what they would suggest for the current situation. If everything was as he thought it was then the source of this demonic energy was from these people rather than from any Legion forces that may not be present here. _

_If that was the case then they had nothing to worry about. _

_They would need to investigate these being, but if it turned out they were native to this world then they would leave them be. They didn't have time to handle all the problems in the cosmos after all! _

_The Legion was bad enough... _

_In fact, they didn't do anything for the populace after the Legion had been cleared out. They would tell the people what they needed to know and then move off to the next battle zone. The people would be left to rebuild their world with whoever was left. If they were in dire need they would try to aid them but only if they could and were not behind schedule in their conquests._

_As he was making his escape he was assaulted again by a very familiar segmented sword. The blade's edge veered towards him and threatened to cut him in half if he didn't dodge. He did so with the grace that was befitting of someone within SI:7, but this move was anticipated by his enemies. _

_Appearing behind him was a very familiar busty blonde, who tried to kill him earlier. She reared back her arm and punched at the Rogue. He raised his arms over his chest to block the blow seeing no way to dodge the attack. When it struck he was sure that his arm would break from the force of the hit. It was painful, yes, by also jarring. One would not think someone was that strong! She may be a woman but had been in plenty of fights to know that as soon as you underestimate someone you either end up getting the shit kicked out of you or dead... _

_And he wasn't going to underestimate these people and get killed. _

_He went souring through the canopy before hitting into something big and soft, and just as he struck this unknown cushion something wrapped around him. Two large arms were now wrapped around his torso keeping him from moving. He looked around the see the large man he saw during his confinement had him in a bear hug._

"_Hah! Got you now punk, that'll teach you to mess with me!" The fat man said with a diminutive sneer. _

_Max narrowed his eyes at the boisterous fool; he was getting on his nerves._

"_Omaeda, keep his retrained, I'll get his weapons!" Said the red-haired Shinigami. _

_Max would have none of that! Manipulating the weapon his hands into a reverse grip he was able to sink them into the man skin enough to let him scream in pain and to let him slip free. When he was out of the man's grip he charged forward and leaped into the air, kneeing the red-haired Shinigami in the chin and then using his chest as a jump point to lunge at the fat one, where he used his shoulder as another jump point to make his escape._

"_Damn it!" Screamed Renji, nursing his jaw before turning on Omaeda. "What the hell? Why did you let him go?"_

"_He stabbed me!" Retorted Omaeda, pointing at the two shallow wounds on his stomach. _

_To which Renji and Rangiku scowled at. Was he really complaining about those things? Just as that happened Byakuya leapt by and didn't spare them a glance before chasing after the Rogue._

"_Taichō!" Said Renji, forgetting the pain in his jaw and following after his Taichō. _

_A moment afterward Rangiku followed suit, leaving a grumbling Omaeda in the canopy to complain about being wounded and how he needs to see a doctor._

* * *

_Byakuya was on the man's trail in seconds. _

_After hearing commotion not too far from his current route he easily was able to follow the carnage left in his wake. Dozens of wounded lay on branches and the forested floor below. _

_This man was skilled. _

_Very skilled. _

_To think him just a normal human was almost shocking to know, for he possessed no Reiatsu to perform these abilities of his and seemed to be able to fight on par with their most expert fighters. If this man was able to take them on with such skill, he could only image what the others are capable of. _

_He saw a blur ahead of him and moved faster. With a burst of Shunpo he appeared six metres to the targets right. Then with another burst he appeared next to a tree and ahead of him, when he was close enough he swung his sword at the unsuspecting man. But the surprise was his when the man leapt over the blade and continued on his way without a care. The noble followed him and as he did Fukutaichōs Renji and Matsumoto appeared beside him._

"_What the hell is this guy? How can he take us on so easily, is he an Arrancar?" Asked Renji._

"_No, he can't be. I can't sense any Reiatsu from him." Said Rangiku._

"_I doesn't matter, capture him by any means necessary." Replied Byakuya, before he sped off to catch him._

* * *

_Max leapt from branch to branch. _

_He was getting tired; this was not the kind of situation he was supposed to be in! There was no way he could take on this small army by himself! He leapt to another branch when he noticed another one in his path. _

_A straight black haired man with a sword in his hand... _

_No, just the hilt... _

_That was odd... _

_No matter, he would pass him, he was no threat without a sword, and even if he did attack he could dodge it. _

_But what he didn't expect was to get a incredible sense of foreboding about going near him. His sense proves right when he leapt out of the way he saw the branch and tree he was on a moment ago torn apart by an unseen force. His keen eyes seeing nothing but pink petals moving in the wind... _

_Wait... _

_Pink? _

_That wasn't right! _

_As he leapt away he then saw some brush against his arms and the moment they did, pain and blood shot out from his arm. As he landed on another branch he looked down to see that whatever those petals were had actually cut through his armour and into his arm. Those were some tough flowers! After all, his leather coverings are enchanted with Magic to be as strong as steel, so if it can cut through that, then it would be best to avoid them at all cost. _

_That was better said than done though. For the moment he looked up he saw hundreds of the things scattered around the entire canopy and many were within two feet of him. _

_This was bad. _

_He looked over to the only other person here and knew he was responsible for this._

"_You cannot escape; surrender and your capture will be less painful that it has to be." Stated Byakuya with an emotionless tone._

_Max didn't respond and took off again, dropping form his branch and onto the ground he hoped to disappear into the darkness below and hide from the enemy there. But even with his best efforts the petals were everywhere and he was using all his skill to try and avoid them. But even he couldn't hope to avoid them all. _

_Small cuts and tears along his clothing and flesh were visible. Those petals were like swords, cutting through his armour and skin like it was nothing, and no matter how far he ran they were always around him._

"_Give up; you will only prolong the inevitable." _

_Max looked up to see the same man following him from the branches above. Then in an instant he was gone from sight. As Max turned to look ahead of him he saw the man standing only a few feet ahead of him. A cluster of pink petals coiling around him like some sort of snake. He looked at Rouge with an emotionless mask of indifference. He may have said that he should give up but he showed that if he tried he would be cut apart. _

_Max didn't like this. Fighting against someone with a blade he could do, but Magic that was not his area of expertise. _

_In that moment of distraction it allowed another of them to attack. Coming from the shadows to Max's right a metal blade shot out towards him at blinding speed. He couldn't even raise his daggers to halt the weapon from connecting with his body. The next thing he knew his chest flared and he was sent through the tree line and into a large clearing._

_Max skidded across the ground for a few feet before he rolled to a stop near the centre of the rectangular shaped clearing. He stayed on the ground for a moment to make sure that nothing was broken, and when he was sure he moved as quickly as possible to get to his feet and then continue his escape. As soon as he was on his feet however he noticed he was surrounded. _

_Dozens of them appeared out of thin air around him. He was surrounded on all sides by these warriors, their swords at the ready and their faces betraying only one emotion, and it wasn't happiness. _

_Then to his right appeared eight others, each different from the other. Four had capes over their back, three he recognised as those he fought against previously, and another had a pink one instead of white. While behind them were another group with arm bands with a wooden badge._

"_Your surrounded, surrender, this will be your only warning." Said the White haired young man. _

_Max looked around and saw that he was indeed surrounded. If he could reach for his Hearthstone he may have enough time to channel it and escape, but to do so, it would require some manipulation. For now he stood his ground, and waited. If he makes a single move he would be attacked, or if he tried to surrender they would pounce on him and either attack or subdue him before he could even reach for the Stone._

"_Do you think he can understand us?" Said Rangiku, thinking back to the factory where he was encased in ice. He spoke that dark and unfamiliar language, Rangiku shuddered a little at the memory of those words being spoken. They felt so wrong. "I mean, you remember what he said, I've never heard a language like it before."_

"_That could be true; he might not understand us and think we're only threatening him." Said Renji, resting his Zanpakutō on his shoulder as he rubbed his chin, still sore from where he got hit._

"_I don't believe it, I'm sure he was insulting me!" Shouted Omaeda, a response that made it more apparent that these people had little knowledge of the Legion or possibly didn't speak Eredun, but just to be sure he would find out._

"_Well, there's one way to find out." Said Shunsui Kyoraku, before he starting to walk towards the man, without pulling out his swords. The other Taichō were surprised by his brash action as were the Fukutaichō._

"_Hello there!" Waved the laid back Taichō. A smile on his face and an aura of someone with not a care in the world despite the very tense situation they were in. He could tell this one was likely the leader and the strongest of the group. "My name is Shunsui Kyoraku, Shu-n-su-i Ky-o-ra-ku."_

_All the while he was pointing at himself and sounding out every syllable in his name. If Max still didn't have his mask on he would have been looking at this Shunsui Kyoraku as if he was an idiot. He then reached into his coat. Immediately Max gripped his weapon firmly waiting for him to pull out his swords. But he was surprised when this Kyoraku pulled out a bottle and a small cup. The feint smell of alcohol caught his nose. He poured it into a small shallow dish and then took a swig. He let out a relieved sigh before he poured another and offering it to him. _

_Max shook his head at the man and simply watched him. He was an odd man, but from the way he was dressed and the way he acted and drank he would more attribute him with a Pandaran Brewmaster than a human one... _

_After all, the only thing they do better than fight is drink._

"_So care to tell me why you're here?" He asked, but was met by silence, which didn't affect his mood in the slightest. "Not much of a talker are you? Okay then, so how about you listen?" Said the conical hat wearing man, his words now becoming serious, taking another gulp from the saucer disk before continuing. "We have detected numerous energy signatures appear in this country, killing and in some cases destroyed hollows that are meant to be within our jurisdiction. And then you have killed and wounded many of our soldiers and attack three Taichō, which is a very grave offence. Punishable by death, so tell me, what reason do you have to be here?"_

_There was no answer; instead the Rogue looked at him for a moment, weighing up his options. He couldn't tell him anything, it wasn't part of the objective, and they needed to remain incognito in order to operate without dealing with the local population. If these people found out about the fleet there would be no telling what they would do. They would have waisted their time here for nothing and if they were part of the Legion then they would be an even greater threat to them. But it seems they didn't know about whom they were and if they were part of the Legion or not it had to remain that way._

"_I cannot tell you anything. Leave us be, we wish you and the people of this place no harm, we are simply searching."_

"_Searching for what?" He question was given no answer. Instead the Rogue sheathed one dagger and pulled out a Stone, the Shinigami all tensed when it started to glow a dim blue._

"_If you are not among their ranks then you are not our enemy, but if they are here, gather you armies and prepare, for they will burn this world to ash should either of us fail." And in an instant he disappeared, a single whoosh and he disappeared; the warning of impending doom still lingering in the wind._

* * *

**Present**

"He disappeared?" Asked Shinji, not fully understanding that he just 'disappeared'.

"Yes, that Stone in his hand must have been some sort of teleportation device. _How_ that is possible is still a mystery." Said Toshiro.

"That man said something about us not being their enemy..." Said Kensei. "Anyway you can confirm it?"

"He attacked and killed our men, what does that tell you?" Said Suì-Fēng, some bite to her words.

Not towards the Taichō, but the fact that her men had been killed.

"It's possible he didn't know who we were. He might have mistaken us for whomever their looking for." Said Shunsui, tipping his hat forward to hide his features.

He was very interested in the words he said: _'they will burn this world to ash should either of us fail'_. Those were very disturbing words to hear. He wondered what he was talking about. He might want to see about learning about what that phrase he said meant, and it might shed some light on the situation.

"So, what now?" Asked Ukitake.

It was then that the Sōtaichō gave his orders.

"We will be posting sentries in certain cities and town across the region." Said Yamamoto.

His hard voice bringing all to attention and giving them his commands that are to be followed without question.

"What about Karurara town?" Asked Shinji.

Interested in what was to become of his old home before he re-joined the Goteijūsantai.

"Kurosaki Ichigo can deal with these threats himself, but I want a response team prepared to locate them should they be detected. In that event you are to attack and subdue them _alive_ for questioning." Ordered Yamamoto, slamming his cane into the ground to emphasis on the point on bringing them in _alive_.

"Hai, Sōtaichō." Chorused the Taichō.

And with that the meeting was closed, but before he let Mayuri and Shinji leave he called them forward.

"Captain Hirako, Captain Kurosutchi, stay behind." The rest of the Taichō filed out to get to work on preparing for the next engagement that would likely occur with the anomalies. "Captain Hirako, I wish you to return to the world of the living and speak with the Visored and Urahara about the situation, and make sure that he along with Yoruichi Shihoin and Tessai Tsukabashi are given all the details."

"Of course." Said Shinji.

He was actually glad that he was going to be going back. It would give him some time to visit the others. He hadn't seen much of them since he became a Taichō again, it would be good to see Hiyori again...

He kind of missed messing with her.

"Kurosutchi-Taichō, I want you to gather the entire Jūnibantai together and monitor the entirety of Japan. Find them! I want to know where they are, when they appear and I want the response team to converge on them immediately."

"Yes Sōtaichō." Said the Jūnibantai Taichō.

"Good, Shinji prepare to leave tomorrow."

They both bowed to the Sōtaichō and then departed for their respective divisions leaving Yamamoto to ponder on recent events.

He wasn't exactly pleased with what he heard. They said they were not their enemies, but they were definitely not their ally... And they said they were searching for something...

If it isn't the Shinigami or Soul Society they are looking for then who is it they are? And why would they warn them to gather their forces and prepare themselves? _'They will burn this world to ash'_ he said.

What was so dangerous that it could warrant the complete destruction of the world?

He did not like this.

He could feel something coming and every day that passed the feeling returned. He knew not to trust in conjecture or gut feelings, but he knew right now something was going to happen. Something that would change the way Soul Society exists since its creation.

* * *

**Garmak, Main Bridge**

"These individuals, what can you tell us about them?" Asked the High Shaman.

He along with the other commanders in the fleet were currently speaking with Agent Maxwell Sutherlin, the SI:7 Agent sent to guard the two Gnomish Engineers on the world below. When they returned saying that had been attacked by an unknown group of soldiers and that Maxwell was fighting them off, they became slightly worried of his capture when he didn't appear within an hour.

But an hour and twenty three minutes later he appeared.

Injured and exhausted.

He had been taken to the medical bay and healed before he was brought to the bridge to speak with the Commanders, who were very interested in finding out what happened, what he told them was very surprising.

"From what I can't surmise they were Spirits, not like the ones the scouting force has come across. Different, _uncorrupted_ it would seem." Replied Maxwell. He was standing on the opposite end of the table with his hand behind his back and his armour still in disorder. "They didn't appear to be a unorganised group. They had a command structure and ranking, as said by one of the four who claimed himself to be a _Captain,_ though the significance of the rank in their force is unknown, it could be anywhere in their ranking and hierarchical structure."

"What about their combat capabilities?" Asked Aurrius.

"They appeared to possess swords that are able to change shape. On four occasions I was able to see a sword that could segment itself and be used as a whip-like weapon. One turned itself in flower petals that can cut through steel and one that is able to control ice." Replied Maxwell. Some of the Commanders were intrigued by this bit of information. Sword that could change shape and alter their combat capabilities was a very interesting ability! "It would also seem that their alteration increases their strength and power considerably and from what I can tell they possess _some_ form of Magic."

"So that means that they could pose a serious threat to our soldiers in the field." Said Reinhart.

"If so then we should warn them immediately about the situation and if they engage these targets to retreat rather than fight." Said Mull Stormhoof.

"That will be impossible at the moment. We have lost contact with them. The energy that is present down there is interfering with the Communication Stones, the only way we can alert them is by sending someone down to get them." Manath Magesinger.

"But that would put more people in danger and make it harder for our people to remain inconspicuous! If the population are already onto us then we need to not alert them to anymore of our activities." Vedorthil Dawnspear stated.

"Yes, _if_ they can detect our presence on the planet, then they have likely detected our abilities to open portals and using the Hearthstones. Any more action could lead to more attacks, especially if they think we're some invasion force." Said Danforth Lichhunter.

"Is there no way we can contact them, to let them know what's going on?" Asked Aurrius.

"Only direct contact and sadly we can't send anyone else down without risking their lives... Especially against such powerful foes." Said Manath.

"Then all we can do is hope that no harm comes to them." Said Mairne.

But in truth he was worried about his student, especially in her current condition. If she had an episode while in the presence of these being and was attacked and harmed it may trigger some sort of episode to occur. And with a Spirit Walker, if they lose control any number of catastrophes could occur: innocent people could be killed, their own people could be killed or she could be killed from the back lash of energy and memories she would accumulate from the Spirits of her ancestors.

* * *

**Kararura Town, Urahara Shop**

Outside a very normal looking shop were two young teenagers: a young girl who had long black hair with a purple tint and a boy who had fiery red hair. They were the same age but both had completely different personalities from one another.

"I told you not to play in front of this store!" Shouted Jinta Hanakari.

The boy was very aggressive and would often try and pick a fight with anyone around him. He was currently trying to pick a fight with a group of kids who were playing baseball in front of the store.

"Don't yell, Tessai will get mad." Said Ururu.

Her tone was very meek and her slumped and shy outer image showed everyone that she was just that.

Jinta whirled on her and shouted back in response.

"I'm not scared of that big lug!" Said the red haired youth, pointing his finger at her as if she had caused some great crime and she had to be punished for it...

Which he tried to do with the end of the broom before the man of his fears appeared behind him. Casting a dark shadow over Jinta, who had stopped dead in his tracks. When he turned around to look at the source of the shadow all he saw were a dark silhouette and two white rectangles on its face that showed that the figure was wearing glasses.

Jinta had his broom snapped out of his hands and then a second later the wooden shaft connected with the top of his head. He let out a pained cry before crouching to the ground holding his head. Unshed tears formed in his eyes and he clenched his teeth as he shook to prevent himself from crying out again.

"I have told you not to antagonise the customers." Said Tessai Tsukabishi.

A large muscular man with a moustache and lightly tanned skin. He was currently scolding the red haired youth for scaring of the kids, even though they shouldn't play in front of the shop it could have been handled better than that.

"Still as lively as ever it would seem."

Tessai looked up to see a man standing only a few feet from him. He wore a simple black button up shirt with a blue tie and long pale grey pants with white shoes.

This man was Shinji Hirako.

"Shinji, what brings you here? I would think with you being a Taichō you wouldn't be able to get any free time in the World of the Living." Said Tessai.

"Sadly this isn't a personnel visit. The Old Man sent me, we got problems."

Tessai nodded to the formally reinstated Taichō and ushered him inside. He was brought into the living room where a certain shop owner was busy sipping some tea and relaxing.

He wore very outrageous clothing and at first glance one would consider him an oddball. He wears a black knee length coat, which sports a white diamond pattern along its bottom half, with a dark green shirt and pants underneath. He also wears traditional Japanese wooden sandals and a striped dark green and white bucket hat. Because of his odd clothing attire he has been subject to some derogatory nicknames, such as Hat-and-Clogs.

This man was Kisuke Urahara, former Jūnibantai Taichō and the first president of the Gijutsukaihatsu Kyoku, who was now a simple candy store owner in the World of the Living.

"Shinji, so glad you could join us! Want so tea?" Said the ever so cheerful former Taichō.

"Sorry Kisuke, but this isn't a social call. I'm here on orders from the Sōtaichō." Said Shinji, taking a seat on the opposite end of the table, while Tessai sat beside Urahara.

"So what's going on?" Asked Kisuke.

From that point Shinji began to fill him in on all the details of the last four weeks. About the strange anomalies and Hollow's deaths across the globe and how the anomalies are now somewhere in Japan and likely looking for them. This news came as a surprise to the two exiled Shinigami. Unknown energy signatures? Unnatural Hollow's death? _And_ Konso?

Sounded like his piece of cake.

"So you're here to get us and the Visored ready for whatever is coming huh?" Asked Kisuke.

His tone less playful and more serious. He looked over to the Rokubantai Taichō for confirmation and he received it with a nod. "Alright then, I'll get Ichigo and the others here and fill them in. I take it you will talk with the Visored?"

"Yeah, I'll be staying with them for a while. Gramps said he wants you to set up a command post here so that if they do show up that we can bring our people here on a moment's notice." Said Shinji.

"Alright, I'll get it set up. I'll see about setting up some detectors to try and pick up these signature. Guess that means I'm gonna need to talk with my good ol' friend Mayuri." Said Kisuke. Already planning out the next few days of what could be the precursor to the next war with Sōrusosaeti and a new enemy. "Anything else I should know about these guys?"

"Their strong, able to take down Menosu Gurande with ease, and possess abilities that could be very hazardous to anything that uses Reiatsu. So be careful if you come in contact with them." Replied Shinji.

While making sure his words were a grim and serious as possible to get the point across to the former Jūnibantai Taichō.

"Alright, I'll get started, you should go to the Visored, and they should get ready as well."

Shinji took his leave after finishing his tea in a single gulp, leaving Tessai and Urahara in the living room to contemplate the current situation. If they were dealing with a threat as dangerous as this then it would be wise to prepare for all contingencies.

"What do you think we're dealing with here?" asked Tessai.

"Don't know... But if it can carve its way through Hollows like they're nothing, then it's not good for us." Replied a grim Kisuke.

Before he got up and went to the phone. He quickly dialled a number and waited for the phone on the other end to answer.

"Yeah." Came a reply over the line.

"Ichigo, get over here now, we have things to discuss."

* * *

**Four Days Later, Outskirts of Tokyo**

* * *

Seven warriors were overlooking the glowing city from the mountainous region. They could see the lights of the city making it glow as if it was day rather than night. They could hear the sound of millions of people and many songs and car being echoes across the wind, but they were not here for entertainment.

The seven warriors were some of the best there was in the Seventh Fleet and the best in their respective positions within the army.

The leader of the troop, Mojin Windchaser, Shaman of the Earthen Ring and an Air Ascendant. He wore the dark red armour of the Shaman, chainmail robes and metal plating that was bound to him with chains and leather straps. He had long tusks that jutted from his mouth and had the potential to gore someone if they were close enough. Although one could never tell if he would or not, and he had long green hair that extended upwards in a ragged Mohawk. At his sides were two long crescent axes attached to his belt. Bwa'ran, the Vicious Lynx and Yaiba, the Bloody Clawed Panther, there were his weapons and they were just as deadly as the man who wielded them.

The next was Morgana Runecaller, or as she is called within the Ebon Blade 'The Rune Dancer'. She was a Death Knight of the Knights of the Ebony Blade and one of its most vaunted Champions. She had very pale skin that appeared to have never seen the light of day before and glowing eyes of sapphire that were hidden behind dark shades. She wore mostly leather, a black jacket with a design of a blue flaming skull with runic symbol of blood emblazed on it. Over a tight black t-shirt and navy blue jeans with boots, she had fingerless gloves and a choker, and all across these pieces of clothing were metal thorns and spikes along with iconography of skulls and the symbol of the Knights of the Ebony Blade. On her back was a small backpack that held all her essentials, including her wide assortment of weapons. Including swords, polearms, axes and maces... She liked to come prepared and keep herself entertained by killing something in as many ways as possible.

The third was a contrast to the last, Carmila Ranford, Paladin of the Argent Crusade. She had fare skin and long blonde hair that was tied in a pony tail that flowed down her back, she wore similar clothing to the Death Knight aside from the spikes and skulls. She was not that morbid or fascinated with how many ways you can kill something with an axe. She was a soldier through and through. She would obey her orders without a second thought, even though she took orders from Mojin she saw no problem in following his command, and was a very kind and considerate individual. On her back was a pack that held her sword and shield, but she preferred to deal with her enemies with a single swipe of her hand and cleanse them with holy flame, which she had done on more than one occasion.

The third was Frederick Augustine, a very capable warriors and from what the group had learnt a Gilnean. He was a member of the Gilnean Liberation Front during the War between the Horde and Alliance, although that was many years ago. From what they can tell he had a severe dislike towards the forsaken. He is very well armed, he has two flintlock pistols hidden beneath his long brown trench coat and a long rapier at his side. These two weapons were as deadly as they were beautiful for the craftsmanship, and they were highly fashioned with Iconography of wolf carvings. He was a quiet man, rarely saying a few words a day. The only time he spoke was when he was telling Mojin about the situation during his patrols through the region, but when he did speak to them he was very formal and spoke like a noble or leader.

Elyssire Nightstrider, Druid of the Cenarion Circle. She was a very powerful Arch Druid, capable of calling upon storms and even bringing forth a small army of Treants to her side. She was a force of nature that few could compare to on the battlefield. She wore a long sleeveless robe of emerald green and gold, many intricate patterns were stitched into the fabric showing the artistic imagination of the person who made the dress, and arms were covered in metal bracers that covered her entire forearm and metal gloves. She had her head concealed beneath a hood, while in her left hand was a long ornate wooden staff, with the carving of a white stag rearing back on its hind legs and behind it was a wooden arch with a disk meant to symbolise the moon.

Raralas Arcanum was a Magi, more specifically, an Archmage within the Kirin Tor, and a leader within the Silver Covenant. He was heavily concealed behind his attire, as his High Elven heritage was not something he would want the people of this world to take noticed of. He wore simple baggy pants and hoodies to cover up his form as well as a bandana with sunglasses to hide his ears and eyes, and on his back was his backpack that held the necessary equipment needed to locate the source of the demonic energy as well as his weapons. A long metal staff with a sapphire crystal on each end with six crystals floating around it, and a war-mage sword. A simple single edged sword that was able to draw in Mana and could be used as a focus for casting spells or blend with the spells to reach it in fire or lightning. He was a very talkative man, often discussing on how these cultures coexist with one another and how they integrate into societies in order to fit in. All in all he was man of intelligence and kind of boring at times.

Then there was Aeran Mifune, the Monk... A _very_ strange monk... He was very talkative and quite cheerful, there wasn't a single time that his companions had not seen him smile. He was quite the optimist when it came to their mission. Often saying that he didn't believe there were Demons here. How he knew or thought so was never brought up. He was actually a very kind and humble person, more interested in a peaceful solution rather than fighting, but if push came to shove he would fight back with everything he had. And when he did he was devastating. He wore a simple tank top with a jacket and long baggy jeans, he wore a simple hat and a necklace of the Shang-Xi monks. He carried no weapons, as he believed his body was a weapon, and from what they had seen him capable of he was not wrong about it.

The Final member of the team was Draga Wolfheart, Shaman of the Earthen Ring and Disciple of Mairne Ragetotem. She was the youngest in the group, only sixteen years old. She wore light armour and thick robes, her arms and legs were exposed, save for the shin high boots and forearm length gloves, her armour was a deep red, similar to her master's armour. She wore light armour over her chest that was covered by the Earthern Ring Tabard, and had two large shoulder guards that had the design of two wolves howling and along with ridge were teeth like carvings. On her back was a circular shield and on her waist was her axe, and attacked to her wrists were her shaman claws. She stared down at the city below with some curiosity but a little apprehension about being near so many humans.

"So this is Tokyo? Doesn't look too bad, kind of like Dalaran but more flashy." The echoing steel tone of Morgana was heard by all.

Her arms cross over her chest as she gazed down impassively at the bustling city.

"No, Dalaran was much more grand than this. This place is nothing but a hovel that has a few good spots for tourists." Said Carmila.

Over the last few days she and Morgana have become friends, if you could call _it_ that. Mostly they talked about fighting and actually sparred with one another on occasion.

"Can you feel it, the concentration is strong here." Said Raralas.

"He's right, I can feel it washing over me as we speak. I feel like I'm being soaked in Demonic Taint." Replied Elyssire, shuddering lightly as she looked at her hand.

Before Aeran came up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see his smiling face and heard his reassuring word.

"Don't worry, everything will be alright. As long as our hearts are strong and our will unshakable we will not fail in our duty." He assured her along with everyone else.

They had to give him credit, his charisma really made everyone feel better in the long run.

"Elyssire, Draga, Raralas, search da outa' lyin' areas for some place we can bunk down for da night, tomorrow we start da search." He said crouching low, surveying the land below. It was very hard to see into the city. "Meet back here in an hour, den we move to where you find."

They nodded before the three non-humans took off and began their search for a place to bunker down for the night, while the other waited for their return.

Elyssire taking to the sky, while Raralas teleported himself from rooftop to rooftop and Draga morphed into a spirit wolf and ran off.

As she rushed down the slight incline she thought more about this place and the strange feeling she received from it. She could feel the dark power that lay in this place but she couldn't help but feel that it wasn't evil. She wouldn't say that she had a gut feeling about it or her sense told her that, it felt like someone else was telling her that it wasn't the case. She could almost feel like someone was giving her a hint of what was going on and the thing was, what was making her anxious more than being in a possible combat zone was the fact something may be severely wrong with her. Hearing voices and having dreams about people and places that didn't exist, that was _far_ from normal. And these odd sensation she had been receiving when she arrived here, it was getting stronger, she could almost feel like there were others around here.

Something wasn't _right_ about this place. It wasn't _bad_, it wasn't _good_, but she felt that something was about to happen, that might involve her and her companions.


	6. Act 1, Chapter 05: Tokyo Drift

**Hello everyone, it's been a while since I updated this story, it almost made me cry when I didn't update it, I mean this this one of my stories, I don't usually leave things unfinished, so I decided that after making a few chapters for Transcendence and sending them off to be Beta-read I would get this thing up and running again as well as Lords of Warcraft.  
**

**I would also like to thank my Beta-Reader Lunarmon, who helped point out and correct several grammatical errors and is helping me with the plot of the story and the direction it should go in.**

**NOW on with the reviews.**

**tarrangar: Don't worry, I have seen the movie, and I will likely get the book so I can understand it rather than just going off a basic description, always looking for new things to read and it would be interesting to see some of the things you suggested. As for the Diskworld Chronicles, I have a good Idea on how that could go down, I'll send you a PM later on to show you how it could go down.**

**Leapinglemur: Well here is the next chapter, sorry for the long wait, but you know when people demand a story you give it to them or they give you flame. As for your empty head, I am sorry I couldnt fill it with more of my story, but now you can.**

**99 Luffy: Small Skirmish? Mate, Fake Kararura town was a small skirmish, what is going to be happening when everyone starts going all out is going to be a blood bath. Because where the Shinigami hold back unless absolutely necessary, the guys their dealing with, don;t hold back for nothing, for them it is either put up all you got or you die. As for how they will unite together, I am saving that for something special.**

**Arrankor: I do agree that the people that fought against Max were simply run of the mill soldiers, but remember the people that are in Japan now are some of the best in the 7th fleet, they can go on par with a captain with sword skill alone. Also the shinigami tend to think that just because their human and maybe a simple soldier that they aren't much of a threat, after the Quincy Soldat invaded soul society the Shinigami thought they were simple soldiers, and yet they had their asses handed to them because of that. Pride is very dangerous to a warrior, it dulls their senses and skill more than anything else.**

**Lunarmon: Sadly I should have thought of it better, I should have mentioned that the barrier between the world of the living and Soul Society were weakest here and that travel between the two worlds done by a mortal would be much easier if it was done there than somewhere else. **

**I have answered all your questions and reviews and now, it is time to READ.**

* * *

**United Against the Legion of Flames**

**Chapter 05: Tokyo Drift**

**Urahara Shoten**

Urahara had called for Ichigo and his friends only twenty minutes ago, which was more than enough time for them all to gather here, Urahara had been worried when he heard about the odd signatures that had been popping up around the globe for the last month now as well as the fact that souls were being uses as an energy source to power their abilities. That was worse than being absorbed by a hollow, when a hollow absorbed a spirit they are immediately broken down into spirit particles that are absorbed into the hollow, but this, they are still alive and slowly consumed leaving nothing behind. That is something that made him cringe, to use a soul like that for nothing more than a means to an end, that was truly evil, but luckily there had been only two reported cases within the seven that are capable of performing such an act, so hopefully the others don't pick up on their trick or are captured before they start.

He also could see that of the eight signatures there were some very odd readings coming from one particular group, ones that possessed warrior from fifth seat to captain level in raw power alone, though they can't track these anomalies by their souls alone, they had to wait for them to use their power and then isolate their positions. But these ones, from what their scanners said: they didn't have a soul, they only had power, which didn't make any sense, they had to have a soul there was no other way around that, but every time the signature came up they weren't anywhere where they were picking up spiritual activity, but when it did come up they detected large amounts of unknown energy and then it disappeared along with whatever attacked it. This was baffling to Urahara, what could possibly be able to hide their spiritual signature from them, there were a few that could do it, but they usually did it by blending it in with the souls around them, not actual drop off the radar. Just as he finished skimming the report about the attack in the Yamaguchi Prefecture, which involved nearly a thousand hollows and about a hundred and fifty of these unknowns, the door to his shop opened, he raised himself from his seat and went to greet him company.

Standing there at the door were four people, the very four people he had asked to come only twenty minutes ago, he smiled the smile he was always known for and with a wave and flick of his wrist he snapped out his fan and greeted them the only way he knew he could.

"Welcome esteemed customers to my shop, how can I help you today?" said Uraraha Kisuke, which earned him an irritated glare from Ichigo Kurosaki, the orange hair substitute shinigami of Kararura Town, who had only just a month prior regained his Shinigami powers.

"You are the one who called us Hat-and-clogs, so stop fooling around." Said Ichigo, his brow furrowing as he gazed at the former shinigami captain turned candy store owner, but Urahara shook off his glare and turned around and walked back into the shop, ushering them inside.

"Calm down Ichigo, I'm just lightening the mood, especially considering what's going on as of late." Said Kisuke, as he finished his statement his words became more serious; he sat down near the table once more and motioned them to do the same. Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, Uryu Ishida, Yasutora 'Chad' Sado, sat down around the table and stared at the man who had called them all here to discuss something important, and from the face he was making, which was no longer goofy or smiling, but a grim seriousness meant that whatever was coming was bad, very bad.

"What's happening Urahara-san?" asked Orihime, looking at the shop keeper as he placed a file on the table before him.

"About a month ago, a large number of unknown signatures began appearing across the globe, and since then hundreds of hollows have been killed and in some cases destroyed utterly." Said Kisuke, he didn't see any visible discomfort from them, but he could understand, they may have only been in the reaping business for a few years now but they have seen some bad things. "From what we can tell they starting across the entire globe, and about three and a half weeks ago they all came running here, and as of two days ago, one hundred and forty eight unknowns arrived in Japan near the Yamaguchi Prefecture in the southernmost part of the island."

This got their attention, they didn't need to know that it may be an invasion, for they already did, you don't send over a hundred very powerful warriors into a single country for a visit, this could only mean that whatever they were here for was in Japan, and the only thing they had was a lot of spirit pressure and closest dimensional connection to Soul Society.

"So we might be under attack very soon?" said Ishida, Urahara nodded to the boy's observation "How dangerous are these unknowns?"

"From what we have gathered there are eight different anomalies in total, but there are over a hundred and forty separate individual signatures, as for power it ranges from around tenth seat to mid-range captain level" said Urahara, that got a reaction out of them, there were very few things out there that could match up to a captain, if the enemy was crafty enough or had an ability that forced them to keep on their toes then they could hold their own, but raw power alone was something you don't see every day. "But sadly that's a rough estimate, in fact on one occasion they detected one person was above captain level power, and that was from someone who was previously a third seat, so their true power isn't known all too well."

That made them a little nervous, not knowing what kind of enemy you're dealing with and ones who are above captain level in power, that is really dangerous, but they couldn't get the fact that these unknowns were different.

"These signatures, anything else you can tell us about them?" asked Ichigo

"Well for one: they don't appear to use reiatsu" said Urahara, which made them all go bug eyes, that couldn't possibly be right, everything used reiatsu to use abilities, how could something be able to take down a hollow and not use reiatsu? "In fact they all use a similar energy, but they mold it into whatever they want, in fact one draws power from a completely separate dimension from what I've read, which actually seems to be more chaotic and dangerous that reiatsu."

"More dangerous that reiatsu, with enough reiatsu you could level this entire town, what could be worse than that?" asked Ishida, completely out of his depth when trying to discern what these unknowns may be using as a power source, there was simple no way there could be something else they could draw on for power, nothing human or supernatural that he knew of.

"Yeah, and that's why your all here, we need to prepare, I got the report about ten minutes ago and I am already working on making some sensors for the town, we'll set them up and if they come here we should be able to locate them and hopefully capture them without a fuss." Said Kisuke

"Capture?" asked Ishida

"Yeah, the Captain-Commander want them brought back to Soul Society for questioning, after all, this could just be the tip of the iceberg."

"So there may be more." State Sado

"Yeah, so get ready guys, this place may soon be a battlefield." Said Kisuke; in all seriousness as he stared at them with a dark shadow over his eyes. "Come back in a couple days, I should have the wards ready by then, just make sure to keep a look out for strange activity, we can't sense them, but if a hollow attacks and disappeared abruptly we can track it back to one of them."

They all nodded to the shop owner before they all got to their feet and moved towards the exit, offering a goodbye to Urahara before they left, who returned it before getting to his feet and moving to his lab, he had a lot of work to do, and from what he could tell from how fast they got here, not a lot of time.

* * *

_Four days later_

* * *

"Alright, these are the sensors" said Urahara, gesturing towards the weird looking totem poles which had funny faces on them, of a mask smiling, a mask frowning, a mask winking, and another with its tongue sticking out of its mouth like some small minded idiot. They all looked at the creator of these atrociously noticeable sentry devices, who simple looked at them with raised eyebrows and an expression that showed he had absolutely no idea why they were looking at him, and he decided to voice his expression with a "What?"

"What do you mean: 'What?'? Look at them, the only thing inconspicuous is your common sense in thinking this wouldn't be noticed by anyone." Exclaimed Ichigo, but the insult just flew over the shopkeepers head as he stated in a calm and concise manner why they look like that.

"My reasons for making them look like this are simple: who would suspect that a sensor would be hidden within these totems, I mean it would be the farthest thing from their minds, and besides even if they did know there are safety mechanisms inside that would prevent them from trying to destroy or remove it without me knowing about it." Said Kisuke, which made Ichigo bite back a retort, he had a point, if it was in something inconspicuous then it would be safe, but if it was hidden in plain sight then it would be even more likely to avoid detection because if they were searching for hidden devices they probably wouldn't go after dumb totem pole, so he could respect the man's decision to house them in those poles. "Besides, I've had these things for months, been meaning to put them up in front of the shop, but just haven't had the time, funny isn't it."

And then that respect was lost, he just used a bunch of crap around the shop as a covering.

"Whatever; just tell us where to put them, and we'll be off." Said Ishida, deciding not to continue the conversation any further in the direction it was going.

"Aright them, here is a map of all the points we need them set up" said Kisuke, pulling out a map of Kararura Town, and from there he gave them precise instructions on where to deposit the totems and to make sure they were in position where they wouldn't be interfered by the surrounding environment, with that done they set off to do their work.

Most of the day was spent setting up the totems across the town and the surrounding area, eventually they returned back to the shop, tired of lugging around the very heavy sensors that seemed to be a couple hundred pounds.

"Perfect, now I'll just power them up and were in business." Said Kisuke, sitting at a console in front of a wall of computer screens, he began typing away and eventually a wall of computer code and a map of Kararura town appeared. Slowly several dots began to appear across the map, in the exact spots that they planted their totems, it looked like they were working, but as it started up they didn't receive any bleeps or alarms showing that they had detected anything, which was good.

"So are these totems going to be sent across Japan?" asked Ishida

"No, the Captain-Commander, wanted only this area kept under watch, they didn't want to spread their forces to thin, especially against enemies as powerful as these." Said Urahara

"Can we expect backup if the time comes?" asked Ichigo, crossing his hands over his chest and looking up at the screen for a moment trying to understand the readings it was giving off, seeing little hope in that he turned to the man he as addressing and waited for his answer.

"Yep, they got most of the captains on standby along with all their lieutenants; they aren't risking losing anyone else." Replied Urahara

"Anyone else?" asked Orihime, a little worried by what he meant by that, was someone hurt, maybe one of their friends from Soul Society had been injured, or even killed.

"Yeah, after they detected them they sent in four captain and about two hundred other shinigami into the region, they came in contact with one of them, and it resulted in a few casualties, a captain, two lieutenants and thirty others being wounded." Said Urahara, which shocked them, one man was able to wound a captain and two lieutenants and kill several others, which was something that only made it more important for them to realize that they best not underestimate these people.

"Who was wounded?" asked Orihime

"Sui-Feng, Renji and Omaeda, don't worry they weren't that bad" said Urahara, which made them relived that no one they personally knew was killed, but the fact that open person was able to wound them all was still firmly in their mind, but they decided not to press the issue further, just letting the man work. "Alright done"

Urahara moved back and opened a draw on the desk he was working at, he pulled out a handful of ear plugs and tossed one to each of the, on closer inspection they could see they were ear radios, likely so he could communicate with them while in the field.

"You'll need those, I'll keep a look out and if I hear something I'll alert you all to it, now go home its late and I need to close up." Said Urahara; shooing the four of them out of his little Shoten and leaving Kisuke to his work.

* * *

**Western Tokyo**

Mojin stared out into the night; the star could be barely seen past the lights of the city that could be seen from the Greater Dark, as much as this world amazed him on how advanced it was; he was shocked to see how little they cared about the world around them. Pollution, disease, civil strife, religious quarrels, this place had it all, and to think that it wasn't the machinations of some sort of god or demon, but by their own hands and imaginations, it is a shame that such creatures could allow such chaos to run rampart across the world and care not for what it entails for the future. They were also lucky that the elemental plane on this world was tightly held together; in fact he couldn't even contact them across the veil that separates the abyssal planes to the mortal one, maybe which was why they weren't so rampart across the world making them pay for all of humanities affronts to nature.

'Too bad, dey could 'ave knocked some sense into dese bastards' he thought bitterly, as much as he cared about the balance of world, he was half incline to tearing that boundary down so that they could have a little stroll and see what mankind is doing to this world, but sadly he couldn't upset the balance that was already in place. Even if the humans are already doing it themselves, which would eventual come to bite them in the ass, he was a shaman first and foremost and the last thing he wanted to do was damn a lot of innocent people to deaths they didn't deserve.

"Hey Shaman." Came the metallic ringing voice of Morgana, she was leaning against the railing overlooking the small ground that the factory resided on, she wasn't wearing her glasses or her collar that altered her vocal patterns so that no one actual heard what she sounded like. Mojin looked over to the Death Knight, oddly enough she had a serious frown on her face, one of concentration, she didn't usually have that on her unless they were against one of the those bigger corrupted spirits or sparing against Carmila, usually she is quite cynical or bored. "Do you feel it?"

"Yes, it be quite strong here." Replied Mojin, she was referring to, of course, the demonic energies that were very dense within this area, and in fact he could sense the energies lingering on some of the humans he passed when the group made their way here.

It was strange, everyone had a similar amount of the energy within them, which is odd for usually only warlocks or demons themselves carry the energy within them due to the fact that they use it regularly or are demons, so the fact that every human they have come across has this signature within them is odd. Obviously there was something big going on in this city, but why in such a large area, what could they be hoping to achieve by attacking or invading such a large area, it would be more the Legions style to invade somewhere remote and isolated so they can gather their forces and spread out.

"Do you really think the Legion is here?" asked Morgana

Something about this didn't smell right, and Mojin was starting to believed what that monk Aeran was talking about, this place is not what it seems and that there may be no demons here, he would deal with it later on, speak with him when the time comes but for now he would keep a look out and entertain himself with the stars.

"I don' know, but de more we search de more me thinks dat we be wrong, let's hope we are, 'cause if we aren't den we may be bringin' down our people here in force to drive dem out." Said Mojin, but Morgana to his surprise didn't like the sound of that idea.

"Hope not, these people don't fight with honor anymore, just shoot and piss off far enough away to shoot someone else, I want to die on my feet against the Legion who have some guts to face me head on, not to some asshole with a gun that couldn't hold a sword any better than he holds his little dick." Spat the Death Knight, the metal railing rasping as her grip slowly crushed it, and Mojin could sense her power beginning to seep out.

"Calm yourself Death Knight, we got nothing da worry about, jus' calm yourself and we be fine." Said Mojin, Morgana did as he commanded and let go of the railing and reeled in her power, as much as she wanted to get into a fight with something she knew that she couldn't do it, they were here for a mission and when there was a job needed doing, the Death Knight of the Ebon Blade got it done. But usually in a very bloody and loud way, after all what kind of fun is scouting an area without killing something you come across.

"I'll go inside, I haven't slept in three days, need some shut eye" she said before heading off, Mojin nodded and let her go, he was content on letting her get some rest, after all most of them hadn't slept on a real bed for nearly a month now, and from what they had to deal with they deserved at least some rest and relaxation. He hummed to himself, maybe he could do something for them and give them at least a nice place to sleep, Carmila said they had currency for this world so they shouldn't have a problem in gathering up a few things for themselves, he would speak to her tomorrow about this.

* * *

Morgana walked into the small room that they were hiding inside for the night, it wasn't too bad, carpeted floor and big enough to hold them all in relative comfort, but still sleeping against a cardboard wall and the ground wasn't exactly a stay at the Legerdemain Lounge, but it was the best they could do. She looked around at the different people sleeping around the room, propped against the wall was Carmila, her shield resting to her right and her sword in her left hand, even in her sleep she was ready to defend herself, and Morgana actually liked her because of that little perk. Although Death Knights and Paladins are near polar opposites of one another and most of the time they would treat each other like an human and an orc during the first war, but even so they could work together when the time came and after fighting side by side for a while she was starting to warm up to the Paladin.

Her gaze turned to the druid who was sleeping in her panther form, 'smart' Morgana thought, although they didn't speak to one another much Morgana gave her some respect, after all she kept a look out for them as they moved from town to town, making sure more of those spirits didn't sneak up on them. In fact she had saved them a few times when they were waiting in ambush, and because of that got out with fewer scrapes and bruises, but also for the fact that she kept Draga safe, even though she had little emotions or morality, she liked the little orc. She looked over to see her sleeping on the floor with a small blanket over her small form, she smiled a little, from what Morgana could remember about her life when she was alive she had a sister, she couldn't remember many details but she was almost exactly like Draga, nervous and shy.

She really didn't speak much with the high elf or that monk, the latter was too busy studying the world around him and the monk was a complete bag of joy, it really pissed her off, didn't know why exactly, could be that she was a creature of cruelty and malice. Or the fact that she didn't have a sense of humor other than when cracking joke about someone unable to scream after getting impaled, but in the end she didn't like him. Then there was that Gilnean, Augustine, he was a very shady character, the weird part was that he wasn't a simple soldier or warrior, but from what he did say, he was a soldier, a simple run of the mill grunt, but the way he uses those swords of his, it makes her wonder what he is like when he puts actual effort into it.

She decided not to dwell on the facts about her teammate and made her way to a free space and leaned against the wall, she would do well to get some rest, even though it did little for her in the long run it was still good to doze off and not have a care in the world, kind of reminded her of when she was human. She closed her eyes and slowly but surely sleep began to take her, and she drifted into the darkness of unconsciousness and did not dream.

* * *

_The next morning_

* * *

Everyone woke up as the sun shined into the warehouse they were residing within, it was just after six, the sun was beginning its rise over the horizon, each of them got to their feet and worked out the kinks in their joints and wiped the weariness from their eyes, today was a new day and that meant doing the same old routine. They would search around the city in a pattern and look for the demons, usually using their sense to detect them or using the stones they had been given to locate the demonic presences, but either way it was going to be an endless day of walking and looking around a city full of people they didn't want to be around.

They exited the small room and into a larger section of the factory, where Mojin was currently preparing breakfast, although they couldn't bring along sleeping quarters or even something to keep them comfortable when they sleep, they could bring along some very good food and ingredients. They sat around the makeshift dining table and waited for the cook, Mojin, to finish their meals and serve them; all the while they spoke to one another and went about their business while they waited for the meal.

"So how long do you think we're gonna be here?" asked Morgana, leaning back in her chain and kicking her feet up.

"Not long, four days at the most, searching this place shouldn't take too long." Said Carmila; spinning her fork between her fingers and resting the side of her head in her palm.

"Such a shame, it wouldn't be too bad to stay here for a bit and take in the sights." Said Raralas, actually wanted to stay here, he was actually a big drinker and actually found their music interesting, and it was nothing but artificial sound that went doff doff.

"You shitting me right?" said Morgana, opening both her eyes to stare at him as bored as she could, trying to hold in the shock that he could stand being around these kinds of people. "These people are fucking crazy, they read shitty books, have horrible food and everything that is on their portable terminals is Porn! Weird porn too!"

"Yeah, you would know about that wouldn't you?" Chuckled Carmila, looking away slightly so that Morgana couldn't see the face she was pulling as she said it.

"Just because you haven't had any doesn't mean you can take it out on me." Said Morgana in a playfully snide way, which didn't help in anyway as Carmila slowly turned towards the Death Knight a dark gleam in her eyes showing she was just about to kill something, with holy fire, lots of holy fire.

"Calm down you two." Said Elyssire, already frustrated with the two of them, she had been playing mediator between them both since this whole thing started, as much as Draga tried to do it she wasn't a very assertive type when it came to speaking with people she didn't know for too long. "It's too early for me to be prying you apart from one another, and besides we have much more important things to worry about."

"She be right, young ones." Said Mojin, moving towards the table his palm facing upwards as a small tornado danced across his hands, and from behind him eight plates came forward, each of their dishes.

To the surprise of many who are not familiar with Mojin, he is also a very skilled chef, in fact he use to work in the Wild Animal in Dalaran before his older brother took over for him so he could join the Earthen Ring, so most of the dishes prepared were befitting of four star restaurants on this world. Crab, steak, rice, dumpling, fish, warg, crocolisk, and even rhino, this was the only pleasurable thing they could have while out in the field, which wasn't half bad, they eat like kings and slaved away like peasants, it was amusing in some way.

"Now, let's eat." Proclaimed Mojin, and they did, taking their time to finish each of their meals, all the while they spoke about their mission through Tokyo.

"So how's this going to go?" asked Morgana, halfway through her Bear-Basted Crocolisk "Search the town in groups, or go our separate ways?"

"We'll be needin' to split up, can't stay to long here, da risk of discovery too great, search ya areas an' move onto da next one" Said Mojin, eating the crab meat from within its shell, before he took a sip of his South Island Ice Tea.

"Do you have the routes set up?" asked Augustine, his tone professional and business-like, and one of the few times he actually talked while within the group, rarely did he speak with the others except for Mojin and not to great lengths.

"Yea, I 'ave already sent them to ya" said Mojin, they pulled out their maps, which were simple paper maps which a rough design of the area of japan, but these were enchanted to alter their appearance based on the region you occupied, you could close in on most areas and mark off regions on a whim. These were used by many adventurers back on Azeroth, they could mark the locations of towns, people, and even themselves to make sure that they didn't get lost; these maps had been modified so that if the master map was altered then they would be altered as well. Across the maps was a massive and finely sketched design of Tokyo, from it there were dozens of separate regions, and the routes they were meant to take today were visible, it was mainly though the coastline part of the city, they were going to be working their way back towards the mainland.

"Alright, how long should it take us to scour the whole city?" asked Carmila, cutting into her Shoveltusk steak and easing a piece of the meat with some boiled potatoes, before washing it down with a cup of Goldthorn Tea, she did say four days but from the looks of it, it could take a week or two to scour the entire city.

"About twelve days if I am not mistaken, but if we don't do the coast then we can have it done in ten" Said Raralas, he cut up his Dragonfin fillet into many small pieces before starting to eat, and taking an occasional sip from his Espresso.

"No can do mon, we check everywhere, no exceptions" Said Mojin, taking another mouthful of crab meat after speaking, and chewing loudly, much to the displeasure of those sitting beside him.

"Should we report back here when were done?" asked Elyssire, who was only eating an apple and some dried peaches, glare sidelong at the troll as he munched away on his crab, hearing the occasional crunch as a piece of the crabs shell was grinded between him teeth.

"No, I think we should find somewhere more comfortable to hide out" said Mojin, to which the group looked at him curiously, but he only smiled and looked at Carmila and continued "Before ya go, I wanna speak with ya, in regard to a possible location to hide in."

With their meals done and their bellies full, they packed up their plates and went on to do their work; they wouldn't see each other until later at night, as they moved out of the building and finished their conversations with one another they went about their way of travel. Carmila and Morgana took a cab, Mojin and Draga went by spirit wolf, and Elyssire went by flight, while Augustine and Aeran went by foot and Raralas went by teleportation, but unknown to them all someone had detected the activity.

* * *

_Five minutes later_

* * *

Ichigo and Ishida landed in the deserted warehouse area without a noise, they couldn't see a single thing that could be occupying the area; they got here as fast as they could, luckily it was still before school and they didn't have to make up an excuse to get out which saved them time. And now that they were here, they prepared themselves for what might be a fight, but they didn't find anything, in fact about two minutes ago Urahara said that he detected the signature appeared in completely random spots across Japan, almost like it was using Sinodo. But since the sensors were designed to distinguish between the unknown energy signatures and hollows it meant that it was likely whatever version of rapid movement it had, but he commented that it just disappears in one place and appears in another, they were all baffled.

"Do you think they're here?" asked Ichigo

"I don't believe so, this may have just been a temporary base or possibly a meeting point for them" said Ishida, moving up to the warehouse, Ichigo on his trail as he did so "And there were only a few signatures detected, so that means there might not be many in the city, yet."

Ishida opened the door to the warehouse and calmly dusted his hands off before entering, Ichigo had his hand on Zangetsu and was trailing behind the Quincy, looking left and right as they moved further into the room, keeping a look out for anything that might still be present, after all what happened to the shinigami that did the same thing had their throats cut from behind. But from what they could tell there hasn't been a single soul here in a while, in fact there wasn't anything aside from the dust and the stale air that had the aroma of… seasoning? Had someone been cooking in here?

"Over here" said Ishida, Ichigo walked over and saw a small table that had been used recently, very recently, a few crumbs and bits of discarded bones here and there, looks like someone had a very nice breakfast. "They were here maybe thirty minutes ago; they left just after they had their meal."

"Wonder how many of them were here?" asked Ichigo

"Eight" said Ishida, Ichigo looked at him surprised he could make such a judgment.

"How do you know that?"

"There are eight seats and also I can now see eight sets of foot prints from around the table." Said Ishida, true to his word there were eight seats around the table and many footprints on the ground, but one caught Ichigo's attention. There was one set that appeared to be something that had only two toes on a very long foot, Ishida noticed it as well and was wracking his brain trying to think of anything that might fit that impression on the ground, but sadly came up with nothing.

"What do you think it is?" asked Ichigo, but he received no response from the Quincy, he didn't need to respond for Ichigo to know that he had no idea what it could be or what these people could be, but they had to be humanoid in appearance, otherwise they couldn't go around the city without being seen.

"We should head back; there isn't anything else for us here, school will be starting soon and it's almost time for your wakeup call." Said Ishida plainly, to which Ichigo scowled irritably, he hated the fact his father would lunge at him when he was sleeping and even more so when the Quincy made fun of him about it. They got up and made their way out of the warehouse and back to their respected homes, they had to get ready for school, but also they had to be ready for anything that might turn up during the day, after all this could be just the tip of the iceberg.

* * *

**_Visored Warehouse, Several hours later_**

"Hey Baldy, what the hell are we staying here for? We should be out there kicking some ass!" shouted Hiyori Sarugaki, she was a young looking Visored who had her long blond hair done up in two spiked pigtails, she wore a red tracksuit and flip-flops, and was very violent when the situation called for it.

"Can't, we got no idea where they could be." Said Shinji, he was busy reading through a magazine on the couch and not really paying attention to Hiyori's ranting "Besides, Urahara said that he found one this morning, sent Ichigo and Uryu to check it out, they didn't find anything and there hasn't been anything since."

"What?! They called those idiots and not us!" she yelled in outrage, she honestly thought she was better than this pushy ass Shinigami and that stuck up Quincy any day, but none the less they ignored her, she continued to rank while everyone else went about their day. Shinji was reading a magazine and Lisa was doing the same, although there was a difference in the explicitness of the material they were looking at, Love was eating, Mashiro was sleeping and Hachigan was meditating just off to the side.

It was then that Shinji got a call from Urahara.

"Shinji" came over his microphone in his ear, the reinstated Captain shot up and put his finger to his ear and listened in to Kisuke. "We got a hollow near your position, check it out, it might try to attack one of the targets, if it gets out of hand and tried to hurt civilian kill it."

"Understood." Said Shinji, before he exited his Gigai and took off without a word, all the while Hiroyi was shouting all kinds of profanity at the lopsided captain.

He was two minutes from the creature, he could already sense it, not very powerful but still a danger to the people around here, he knew that he didn't have to rush to catch it, he would kill it when the time comes but if the thing did find a person that they were looking for; it was a bonus. Just as he was moving towards it he senses something wrong, the creature's spiritual pressure began to fluctuate, as if it was fighting something, he put his hand on the earpiece and spoke to Urahara.

"Hey Kisuke, are you picking up any odd activity in the vicinity of the hollow?" asked Shinji, a moment of unresponsiveness before the reply came through

"No, I'm not detecting anything, why?"

"It looked like someone is fighting it, I'm moving in."

"Be careful, the target may be someone similar to the one the Hitsugaya fought against." Warned Urahara, Shinji took that into consideration before speeding off to look for the hollow, but when he was only a minute away the thing vanished, completely off the radar. He sped up even more before he arrived, and what he found was a literal blood bath, there was no body of the hollow, it had likely disintegrated as soon as it was killed, that usually happened in highly dense spiritual zones such as Tokyo.

But there was gallons of blood sprayed across the entire area, in fact there was only a few patches where you could make out the actual colour of what was beneath, he could also see that it was all hollow blood, nothing human or otherwise. Just as he looked on he saw bloody footprints leaving the scene, he followed after them quickly, only being a few minutes behind the one who had performed the deed, he followed it out of the alley and towards the busy streets.

When he got there he saw people going about their business and unable to see him in his shinigami form, he looked down and followed the trail, weaving his way through the crowd and searching for one of the anomaly's that was responsible for killing that hollow. But as he followed the trail it became harder, the blood was starting to fade and the path he was following was leading him nowhere, where the hell was this guy going?

'What are these guys planning?' he though, but as he was peering through the crowd he noticed something far off, a man, he wore a trench coat and a wide brimmed hat, he couldn't see much more than that, but still that didn't exactly fit in with the typical everyday Japanese man. He moved to follow him, but as Shinji tried to move someone walked past him and nearly barged into the Shingami Captain without knowing, in that moment he took his eyes off the man he was gone, completely disappeared.

'What the hell', Shinji thought; he was just looking at him 'Where did he go?'

Augustine had ducked around the corner a moment ago, he had seen someone following him for the last two minutes now, an unknown man that seemed to be completely inconspicuous to the naked eye of anyone around him, and luckily for his gift he was able to perceive the man. But he could tell that he wasn't any ordinary man, he was something else entirely, and just like that creature he dispatched three minutes ago, he wasn't something that should normally exist on this world, he watched him pass the alley. The lopsided haired man took a single glance down it and saw nothing before continuing on, Augustine was many things, an assassin, a soldier and an excellent marksman, and this is what made him a very dangerous warrior on the battlefield. No matter where his enemy may be, either in front of him with their back turned, or two thousand paces away, he would take them down with a single precise strike.

Augustine melded into the shadows before he moved further into the alley and found a drainage pipe he could climb up, he did so quickly and when he was on the rooftop he looked down to see the same man near the entrance of the alleyway looking for him still, deciding not to stay any longer Augustine took off and continued on his patrol. Leaving a very confused Shinigami Captain to contemplate on how someone was able to get away from him, he sighed to himself before he took off back towards the Visored warehouse; he contacted Urahara and told him the bad news.

"Urahara, I couldn't catch the guy who did It." said Shinji, gliding back toward his hideout, his eyes scanning the area below him trying to pick up anyone that stuck out.

"You sure you didn't see anything out of the ordinary, or feel something?" asked Urahara, it was a long shot but still one little detail or at least trying to see if they could sense the presence of these people would be invaluable to locating them.

"No, but I did see one guy who didn't really blend in with everyone else in the crowd" said Shinji, before telling the former captain about the man he had seen, his physical description and then how said man was able to evade him when he took his eyes off him for a moment.

"He must be similar to that other one." Mumbled Urahara "I'll alert the others, just be ready for anything that might turn up in the area."

"Understood." Replied Shinji before turning off the earpiece and setting his sights on the warehouse where the other visored were staying.

* * *

Draga was walking around in her spirit wolf form through the empty streets, her form unseen to the mortal eye as she travelled through the realm that spirits reside while in the world of the dead, she could feel the strange tingling sensation flow over her body with every subtle movement she made. Whatever this place represented it was definitely a very spiritually rich ground, possibly why the demonic influence was so strong here, it was nearly impossible to tell the difference with two powerful signatures in the same location, it was like the two had somehow fused together. It was night already and she had been travelling for the last twelve hours none stop, she was tired, even in this form she could be exhausted, and right now she wanted nothing more than to just fall down and sleep till morning, but she was starving and wanted to at least get something to eat.

As she came to the meeting point, which was a park located within the city she rested near a large tree and waited, after only a few minutes the other began to turn up, first there was Morgana and Carmila, both arriving at nearly the same time from their respective Taxi's, while Aeran took a bus. Then from the skies swooped down Elyssire, landing on a branch just above Draga, after her came in Augustine and Raralas, both walked down a path from the far side of the path and last but not least was their leader, Mojin, walking in from the opposite direction in his spirit wolf form. They all gathered around the tree and as one Draga, Mojin and Elyssire shifted back into their humanoid forms, they all looked around at one another and then towards Mojin.

"So why the hell are we in the park for?" asked Morgana

"Decided 'ere be the closest to where we go to next." Replied Mojin, with a small smirk on his face, to which made the rest raise an eyebrow at, what was he planning exactly, hopefully not a night mission.

"What are you up to you troll?" asked Raralas, crossing his hands over his chest and looking at him suspiciously, although he trusted him with his life, he didn't trust him not to make it a living hell when he wanted to.

"I've been thinkin' we all need some rest and relaxation, so me's got an idea." Replied Mojin, to which Morgana snorted at and quietly murmured to herself 'I'm surprised he can do any of the three.'

"So I decided to get Carmila 'ere, to get you all somethin'" said Mojin, to which a moment later a Limo entered the park, Elyssire melded with the shadows while Mojin and Draga shifted back into their spirit forms to hide themselves from being seen, but only the latter knew why it was here.

The Limo stopped in front of the group and a young Limo driver appeared and walked over to greet them, then he opened the door and ushered them in, they watched as Mojin leapt into the car – the limo driver none the wiser – and then everyone else followed suit. Inside was a small minibar and a snack compartment, the driver got back into the car and started her up before telling them to enjoy the ride and he would have them at their destination in half an hour, leaving the group completely confuses as to what was going on. They looked at the wolf that was sitting at the far end of the limo and looking at them with a toothy grin on his face, the Limo took off down the park road and then back onto the street. But just as it pulled out five people landed in the park, all within the vicinity of where the group had been only a few minutes prior to the limo arriving, each of them looked around and searched for whoever might be there and found nothing.

"Damn it; we missed them again." Groaned Ichigo, taking his hand off Zangetsu to look at the others that had showed up at the same time they did. "Shinji-san, Hiyori-san, Lisa-san, I take it your searching for them to?"

"Yeah, but it looks like they got away from us." Said Shinji

"How the hell could they get away, they appear only three minutes ago!" bickered Hiyori, before stamping her foot into the nearby tree, which left the other four to discuss what was going on.

"How many times has it been now?" asked Uryu

"This is the third time today, once down town and another just a few miles from here, but I was able to get a look at one guy who might be one of the culprits." Said Shinji

"Yeah, Urahara told us, long grey trench coat and a wide brimmed hat, had a beard and boots, not much to go on though." Said Uryu

"Better than nothing, this is the sixth time today, how are they getting away from us so quickly?" said Ichigo, "I was literally a minute away and I didn't see anything."

"This is getting difficult, maybe we should start getting patrols together, scout out the town and when we find something find it as fast as we can." Said Lisa, to which they all nodded in agreement.

"Urahara, we didn't find anything, you got anything else."

"Yeah about a minute before you arrived I detected two of the signatures again, but the third didn't put out any energy." Said Urahara

"If it didn't use its powers it might still be here" said Uryu

"Maybe, we'll fan out, search for anything, if they are here in force they may have left by some other means." Said Shinji, to which he nodded to everyone else and they nodded back in confirmation, knowing what to do.

Everyone took off in random directions looking for anyone that may be suspicious, but even though it was night the streets still had a good number of people in them and finding someone among the crowd was not easy, the only thing they could expect was that the people may not be foreign to this country. Ichigo flew over the streets looking for anyone who stood out amongst the crowd but saw no one, how could he hope to search through the crowd and find a single person, there could be hundreds of people down there that fit the profile of someone he was looking for, and the worst part was, if he did find them he could just lug them off. He searched a few blocks and then went off back to the park, he had a long day and now it was turning into a long night, when he arrived he found Lisa and Hiyori there already, the latter reading and the former brooding to herself, it was halted when Shinji and Uryu appeared.

"Find anything?" asked Shinji, they all shook their heads in a negative, to which he sighed to himself "Alright, get some rest guys, I'll search around a bit and keep a look out, if I find something I'll have Urahara call you."

They nodded to the captain and took off back to their respective abodes, they had a long day and wanted nothing more than to get some rest before the next one starts, Shinji took in another exasperated breath before taking off again, looking for whatever he could find.

* * *

_Several Miles away_

* * *

The Limo halted in front of a large multi-story building in the heart of the city, stepping out of the limo they all could see now that it wasn't just any type of building but a hotel, and more correctly, the Four Seasons Hotel, they all gaped at the fact that they were now standing in front of a very luxurious hotel. They looked down at the ethereal wolf that was walking towards the doorway with Draga by his side, while Elyssire maintained her ability to hide in the shadows and followed them, the rest of them took the hint and followed after the two Shaman's and the hidden druid.

As they entered they entered a large lobby with a few people inside, it was truly a palace, clean and full of furniture and decorations that would put even the former citadel of the Alliance to shame with its elegance, as the group moved along a man came up to them and asked them.

"Excuse me, are you the Chaser party." Everyone knew that it was likely that he was referring to Mojin's last name; Carmila stepped forward and spoke to the man.

"Yes, I reserved room for myself and five others, is it ready?" She asked, in a respectful tone, the man nodded and ushered her towards the nearby elevator, everyone entered the contraption, leaving some room for the three hidden allies to catch a ride.

The man pressed a button on the large board and then the elevator began to rise, several dozen floors later and everyone was near the very top of the building, and then they were lead to the end of the hall and into a very large suite near the top floor of the building, giving a spectacular view of the city.

They entered their room and were shocked by the elegance of it, it was truly a world class room, there was a large twelve seated lounge and large flat screen TV and a fireplace, there were multiple rooms and a grand view of the city with its own balcony. They all walked in and took a look around the place, they found large rooms for each of them and they even had their own private Ensuite, and this was the best accommodations that they had ever had the privilege of being in. They gathered inside the main living room and as they did Draga and Mojin shifted back into their original forms and Elyssire appeared out of the shadows, they all looked to the Troll Shaman who had a large grin on his face and the question on their lips was asked by the less sensible person of the group.

"What the fuck is going on?" asked Morgana, to which everyone, who ignored her vulgar way of asking, nodded their heads in agreement, Mojin looked and before moving over to the coach and sitting down while putting his feet up.

"I thought we coul' all 'ave a nice vacation while here, durin' de day we search an' at night we relax like kings." Replied the Shaman, to which the rest of them looked at one another, he was actually giving them a night to themselves; it was the best thing that could have happened to them.

On the Dimensional Ships they really didn't have much to do, other than train and report to duty there wasn't much for them to do recreational wise, there was a bar that they would go to on their free time, and also the Eco-Domes when they were given leave every six months, but still there wasn't much for them to do other than work. So the fact that they had a hotel for the next week and a half was very appealing to them, sure they had to work during the day, but here they could sleep in comfortable beds and also have a bath, the woman were quivering at the knees because of that little fact, and also with that on plate they could keep themselves entertained for a while with a few trinkets they had in hand.

But first they had dinner, and their chef was all too eager to prepare it for them, a large feast was prepared to start the festivities for their time here, Fish, Boar, Crab, Rhino there was no expense for the meal, and everyone liked that, sitting around the table. They all laughed and joked to one another and told storied about their previous missions and the people they had worked with in the past, even Draga starting to loosen up around them, and was telling a particularly funny story about a certain Captain in the 7th Legion.

"…then the man has the audacity to call out to me in the dining hall, everyone is looking at me while he walks over with this grunt I have never met before." Draga told the story to the captivated audience, who were now drinking wine after their very fine meal "He comes over and starts asking me how's it going and if I'm doing fine, and then out of nowhere he introduces me to Vernik, and then says that since I'm not looking for a boyfriend he would do it for me."

The gaping and wide eyes faces from those around the table showed just how surprised they were, they then laughed at the fact that he would go to such lengths to try and get Draga to go on a date with someone, but that didn't stop the others from asking their questions.

"Seriously, he tried to set you up?" said Morgana, having a quick laugh before draining her wine and moving to pour herself another.

"What did you do?" asked Elyssire, leaning forward expectantly, very interested in finding out what she did next.

"I explained to him calmly and clearly that I didn't need a boyfriend" said Draga, in a very mature and calm voice, they all looked on at her as if waiting for the punch line, she struggled not to laugh before she blurted out "While chasing them out of the hall with fire balls and lightning."

That got them laughing, they all shared a good long laugh with one another, this was likely the best night they have ever had with company outside their own circle of warriors, normally they would never associate themselves with people outside their little organizations, Death Knight congregate with Death Knights, Mages speak with other Mages, and so on. As they quieted down and sat in the blissful quiet that was the night, this would be a very rare occasion for them, it was unlikely they would be able to arrange a meeting such as this back in the fleet, after all they had their own duties that took part in many different times of the day and night. So when the ships departed from this world they would be lucky to see one another again, maybe in the dining hall on occasion and in passing, but to meet like this and actually share a laugh with one another, it was unlikely to happen, after all, this was war, not a social club.

"I'm going to miss this." Said Carmila, swirling the red wine in her glass before taking a sip, this was one of the few other pleasures they wouldn't be able to enjoy with her new found friends and personal rival.

"Yeah, this is pretty fun, haven't really spoken to anyone outside the Monastery for a long time; it's nice to meet new faces and speak to people for once." Said Aeran, leaning back in his chair with a smile on his face, that was true, everyone stuck with their own kind and formed their own inner circles within those groups.

"You got that right; it gets boring fighting against other Death Knights now days." Said Morgana, leaning back in her chair with a dissatisfied look, even though she was a fighter and a brawler she could understand what they meant by not getting out to know anyone. "We may be some of the best in the fleet, but all of us are still just a bunch of grunts following orders."

They had to agree with that, they were some of the best in the fleet, they were some of the strongest of their respective groups; that is one of the main reasons they were down on this planet right now searching for demons, they were strong, experience and looked mostly human. But once this is all over they were likely not going to see much of one another, definitely nothing like this, and when they're in combat they mainly operate like separate regiments that don't intermingle with one another, the only time that they do work together is when the Death Knights and Argent Crusade are called to break through something. They call that the Ashen Spear, because no matter what is in front of them they blow right through it and leave only ash and smoldering ruins in their wake, and that would probably be the only time Carmila and Morgana would see each other, and that was if they were part of the same unit.

"Sometimes I think that we should be given more time off, just to actually mingle with other people rather than just stay cooped up in our little barracks on one side of the ship" Said Augustine, which surprised some people that he could actually speak let alone give his own two cents about the current topic.

"By the light, he fucking speaks!" exclaimed Morgana in mock surprise, to which the Gilnean glanced at her in a bored stare before replying with something that matched.

"Just because I don't talk often doesn't mean I can't offer my own opinion" he clarified before going back onto topic "I think that the fleet needs to change, we don't even intermingle with the other organizations, in fact I haven't been to the Fortune in nearly a year, I haven't even spoken to my family there in just as long"

"Maybe I could talk with my master, he could make some changes to the way things are run" offered Draga, they looked on to her and remembered that the Supreme Commander was her Master and trainer, so if anyone could speak with him it probably is her.

"Sounds like a plan." Said Carmila, they all toasted to the meal and the fine conversation before they made to go about their business, but Augustine halted them before they could move.

"Wait a moment; I think you all should hear this." Said the Gilnean, everyone halted and took their seats once more "While I was out scouting I was followed by someone."

"Someone from this world?" asked Mojin

"No, I don't think it was, the man wore odd attire and had a sword on his hip, but he was completely inconspicuous to the people around him, in fact avoided touching them, it was likely he was a spirit." Said Augustine

"What did he look like?" asked Morgana

"Blonde hair, but it was angled along his brow, black cloths with a white cloak, he also had sandals rather than shoes." Reported Augustine

"Not much to go on." Said Mojin

"If his looks don't give him away then his attire will" said Aeran "But I'm doubtful he would just appear out of nowhere, did you do anything before you were being followed?"

"Yes, I was attacked by a corrupted spirit, and after I killed it he turned up, almost a minute after I killed it in fact, I think he was following the blood that was on my boots." Said Augustine, cursing himself for letting something like that slip past him, he shouldn't have allowed himself to be pursued, he should have removed the blood before he left, but even if he did he would have likely been caught.

"So, it's likely that they sensed the creature and came running when it either appeared or attacked" said Aeran "Then it's likely that we should keep our distance from the creatures or when in a fight kill then as quickly as possible, if we start drawing attention toward us from a bunch of unknowns, then we might have our hands full."

"Agreed, keep ya heads down an' only engage if ya attacked, an' if ya can finish dem quickly and without drawin' attention do so and run." There were nods of agreement from all around to Mojin's orders, and with those words said he uttered a different sort "Now, let's 'ave some fun, relax, kick ya feet up and enjoy de night, I think we've earn't it."

And so the night went without a single complaint, everyone took the night off and relaxed to their hearts content, everyone doing their own things and keeping themselves busy in any way they could, which wasn't very hard with the amount of entertaining things in the room. Mojin and Aeran were having a go at Street Fight; currently the score was fifteen to twelve in Aeran's favour, while on the piano Augustine was playing a very beautiful melody while Raralas read a very good book, which by some standard was raunchy. In the bath was Elyssire, enjoying the warm waters and the feeling of being clean, this was also shared by Carmila and Morgana who were also soaking in their own tubs in their private ensuite, but the only one who wasn't relaxing was Draga, she was staring out over the city and taking in the fresh air.

She didn't know why she felt so disquiet in this place, she didn't know if it was the demonic energies she was feeling or if it was the fact that the visions she had been receiving for the last few nights have been coming to her in much more detail and clarity. She kept remembering those faces and those different people, being killed and that massive city, whatever was going on here was bigger than just some sort of invasion force, she knew she couldn't just tell them, they would think she was crazy, she thought it was crazy, but that boy, that Ichigo, he was part of it.

* * *

**Soul Society, Twelfth Division**

The entire barracks of the twelfth division was in chaos, people were running around and many of the operators at the consoles were screaming their lungs out to the Captain who was overlooking them all, the reason behind this was simple, there were many hollow deaths. But what wasn't normal was the fact that many of them, were now being caused by something other than the unknown signatures that had appeared a month back, these were completely different beings they were dealing with right now, and apart from them, Captain Kurotsuchi knew exactly what they were dealing with.

"One hundred and two hollows have been destroyed in 902-0201!" shouted a division officer, which carried over the large room, hundreds of screens in front of them and dozens of officers working at the consoles sorting through all the data.

"Another fifty one destroyed in 6603-8983" shouted another over the chaos, but there were more so many more, some could be heard, and others could not, even though the events that had been taking place over the last month had garnered much of their attention, this one was much more grave then a few anomalies killing a few hollows.

"Third seat Akon, more hollows are disappearing, we can't explain it. It isn't the anomalies or anything we know of, if this keeps up, the barriers between the world will…" the man tried to say, but Akon cut him off, already knowing the answer and dreading it, what was happening now was probably the worst possible thing to be happening right now.

"I know! I've already reported it" shouted Akon, glaring the man down before turning to the console an examining it himself, he followed up without turning to the man and said "If you don't have any other Intel then step down."

"I… I'm sorry, sir" he said before moving off, leaving Akon and Mayuri standing there in the middle of the room, shouting and complete chaos around them, everything was coming apart, not just here but the balance as well.

"Captain" said Akon, looking at his captain apprehensively, sweet beading down his face and neck as he spoke the next few words "This is the work of…"

"A certain party, obviously" interrupted the captain, he knew exactly who these people where, and blurting it out to him would do little good, but in truth he was just a apprehensive as his third seat "There are only one group of people we know that are capable of removing hollows from existence."

Akon looked on in shock, he was right; he had thought them on the brink of extinction, but now he was not so sure.

"It is they and they alone." Finished the Captain; looking on with a grim expression on his face.

* * *

**Well there you have it, the latest chapter for this story, sorry for the long wait, but with Two other stories and one that demands so much attention I have had to divert my attention away from my other works. Don't worry I will be updating all my other stories as time goes on.**

**Anyway, thank you for ready and I hope you leave a review to tell me how I am doing.**


	7. Act 1, Chapter 06: The Battleground

**Hello everybody, sorry for the slight delay, my internet went down and i wasnt able to post this up last night, but I will be posting it along with Transcendence at the same time. So no problem, thisngs are starting to heat up now, the Warcraft crew are moving in to the field and everything is getting ready for war, hope you like it.**

**Reviews.**

**Ultima-owner: thank you for the review**

**Leapinglemur: Yeah, sorry for the long delay, but my other story took off and I had to update it to satisfy everyone.**

**99 Luffy: I am still on the fence about changing this thing to quickly, but still I am doing well, so the Captain-Commander surviving is not off the table. and as for who will be fighting who, you will see it in the next chapter and then the next one after will be the fighting. So two weeks from now there will be some fighting.**

**Alright thats done, now on with the story.**

* * *

**United Against the Legion of Flames**

**Chapter 06: The Battleground is chosen**

**Japan, Tokyo**

For Three days they have been searching, this city that was thought to be nothing more than a pit stop in their search for the demons hideaway, but now Mojin knows that this is false; he and his party had searched through much of the city and its bustling regions. They were only a day or two away from finishing their patrol and then they would move on to their next location to search for the Legions. But now that may have all changed with what the Troll shaman has found, no longer did they need to continue their search through the bustling metropolis, for he had found what they were looking for.

In the western part of the city, they found a small suburb that was bustling with life and also dense with demonic energy, Mojin look on from the top of the building towards this Kararura Town, he could feel the energy in the air and in the people below. Even though he was separated from the town by a small river he could still feel it radiated from the place, this entire place was flooded with the energy, and he could taste it on his tongue and feel it brush against his fur. But it was not only him that could feel it, he looked down to his silver axes that shook at his waist, he grasped the hilts and could feel the spirits within cry out for blood, the thought of killing demons was driving them into frenzy.

But luckily he wasn't a death knight that succumb to the will of his own blade, and the spirits within had enough control over themselves as not to try to subvert control over him, but that didn't mean they didn't like the fact they could satiate themselves with the blood of demons. Turning the bloodlust of his two axes aside he looked back at the small town, this was definitely the location of the Legion if they were here; there was no doubt about it in his mind.

Mojin leapt off the twelve story building towards the empty streets below, wind channeled around his lower body and slowed his fall, he landed like a feather on the paved pathway, he then channeled his energy and shifted into his spirit wolf form and took off down the street. Heading back towards the hotel where everyone would meet up again, after a few days of relaxing and keeping a low profile in the city they hadn't run into much trouble regarding corrupted spirits and an unknown third-party that was looking for them.

He knew that they couldn't risk staying here too much longer, they needed to find the source of the energy and get reinforcement down here to deal with the demons and then get out without these people realizing, the sun was beginning to set and they needed to search for the demons now. He would contact them through the hearthstones and then have them brought back to the hotel, and from there he would organize everyone to begin the search, they had wasted enough time looking for the damn things and he wouldn't waste anymore. When they found their camp they would regroup and then return to the fleet, once they reported on the location the fleet commanders would bring down a small raiding party to deal with the demons before they started anything.

Mojin ran thought the city quickly, moving through the none the wiser crowds towards the four seasons hotel where he and his company were residing, he leapt up onto a small stack of boxed and onto a brick barrier where he leapt from there onto the roof of a small one story building and then shifted back into his natural form. He channeled the wind beneath his feet and shot himself upwards and up to the four season hotel, soon he was at the buildings side and flying upwards, and when he reached the pinnacle he stepped onto the roof of the building. Mojin walked towards the center of the building and then pulled out his hearthstone, which was a glow with blue energy, he looked it over and began to channel his energy into it and pictured the people in his mind he wished to contact.

Hearthstone's were used by travelers back on Azeroth to allow them to be only a step away from home, they would be made to allow people to be tied to a city or a specific place, and when they wanted they could instantly be teleported there. But these stone had been modified for long-range communication, using them one could communicate with users of other stone, and also leave messages on your own stone in the event you went missing and to leave a record. It became a sort of black box for air ship captains and squad commanders that were behind enemy lines, but these stone were also able to summon other people to him as long as they allowed it, he could commune with them and then summon them from anywhere in the world.

Soon enough a series of whoosh's and flashes appeared around the Troll Shaman and before him where his company, each and every one of them holding their stone in hand, he greeted them all with a nod and got to the matter at hand.

"I 'ave found da source of de demonic energy" stated Mojin, much to the surprise of the people present, but no words were spoken "We gonna' leave now to search through de city, find da camp and den we contact everybody else, and den we get da hell out of 'ere and plan out our next move."

Everyone nodded; they knew what they had to do from here.

"I have already set up your routes, when you find it use the stone to tell us before dumping it close to the camp" they all nodded once more "Alright the place were heading to is Kararura town."

* * *

**Soul Society**

Deep in the main library of Soul Society sat the captain of the 8th Division, Shunsui Kyoraku, he was mulling over the information that was inside the library, looking for something he could reference to those words that were spoken to him and also see if he could try and pin them to something. The language was an odd one, the basic structure of it was something he couldn't fully understand nor decipher, it was such an odd language, although it appeared to sound rough and dark. Even though they were simple words the very thought of them made the hair on the back of the captain's neck stand on end, there was something about those words that gave him pause and made him wonder that it was a language of something far more sinister.

But alas, after nearly a week of looking through the Library Shunsui had come up with nothing, he couldn't find anything relating to history of the Gotei 13, there wasn't anything that matched any force that opposed them in the last thousand years. There wasn't even anything that showed up in the last thousand years that had any relation to the language or any similarities to these unknown aggressors, not in the history of the Gotei 13, Soul Society and what information they had about the world of the living. There was nothing in the last thousand years that showed who these people could be, no records of previous engagements, no anomalies that have appeared or even strange hollow death or even humans that were exceptionally skilled in swordplay and were not spiritual aware.

But as he thought about it he came to a startling realization, maybe they were a lot older than he thought they were, after all these people could be from almost anywhere in the past, the Quincies were older than the Gotei 13 and their exact origins are not fully known. With a new basis to begin his search he began to sift through the record for anything that might tell him who these people might be, but sadly nothing conclusive had turned up during his search. He found dozens of forces that existed that had been a threat to Soul Society and been either exterminated by the Soul Kings army or destroyed each other without the King of Souls aid, but nothing about these people, he was going to give up when he found something very interesting.

It was an old book found deep within the archives, its publishing date went back nearly two thousand years, but detailed the history of soul society and human world nearly five thousand years ago, during the rise of human culture and civilization. According to the book it detailed the first major threat to the balance of the world, and also the rise of the hollows that would plague mankind for generations, and also their saviors that came from the skies.

* * *

_In the times of old before the creation of the shinigami that would protect and maintain the balance of the world between the realm of the living and the dead, and the King of Souls who still governed soul society from his Palace of the pure souls. Soul Society was a verdant land full of many souls living without worry or care, they lived in paradise and wanted for nothing and had nothing to fear as they lived out their life in peace and prosperity. But in the world of the living, there was only turmoil. _

_Since the dawn of the world and the birth of mankind there has always been balance, the souls of the departed have always been judged by their actions in the world of the living, their lives on earth a test to show if they were worthy to be brought into the King of Souls domain. For when their souls depart from their bodies, be it age, disease or by mean other than deemed natural they are bound to two places:_

_Soul Society, a haven for pure souls where they may frolic and do as they wish for eternity, to no longer worry about hunger, sleep, despair or pain, where they could continue their existence in the light of the King Palace._

_Or Hell where they are punished for their sin committed against their fellow-man, be it murder, thievery, treason or any depravity that harms that of their fellow-man, for even the most noblest of people are not above another._

_And for so long it has always been this way, but as time went on there was an imbalance, souls began to remain within the realm of the living, disembodied shades no longer able to depart from their former live, either from fear, regret or the unwillingness to leave their loved one, they remained. But a soul trapped in such a limbo cannot hope to survive without succumbing to their own torment and insanity, slowly the chains that bound them to their previous lives whither are wear away, their pain and misery making them lose their grasp of their former lives. And once the final link is broken, what makes them human, their compassion, love and hope are all taken and in that pain and suffering the first hollows were born._

_Creatures of despair and darkness that could not fill the void that was created by being trapped in a world they did not belong, soon they tried to fill it and the innocents that remained alive were the first to suffer, their hunger drove them to consume the souls of the pure and innocent. Over the centuries mankind became devastated by the corrupted spirits appetite for human souls, it was a bleak existence for humankind, and there was no one to halt the advance of the foul beasts._

_Entire civilizations were at the mercy of these carrion beasts, many were raised by the foundations and brought crashing down, hundreds of thousands died daily, mankind was being pushed to extinction with every passing year. Those that tried to fight could not stand against the beasts that were not of true flesh and blood, and soon even the armies that tried to stand against them were brought to heel and devoured._

_The King of souls could not send his warriors to stop them, for they could not travel from one world to the next, it was how the balance was maintained; no soul could leave the boundaries of their world, no matter how powerful, they would always remain trapped in their paradise as mankind was trapped in their own hell. The King of Souls could only watch as his palace fell to ruin as the balance fell apart and Earth continued to be decimated by the hollows, he relented that the twilight of this world was approaching and soon all would be lost, his rule would be brought to an end and all that would remain would be darkness._

_But word reached the King of Souls of a savior; a man, one of the few lucky enough to pass on without being devoured or becoming the very thing that tormented him in his mortal existence, he came to the Palace and wished to speak with the king. When he was brought before the King of Souls he gave what no one thought would be possible in such dark times, Hope, for he had brought word of a most glorious thing, one that would bring them back from the brink of destruction. _

_The demons that had hampered and hunted mankind for so long, nearly bringing them to the verge of extinction and were thought to be unstoppable, were being halted and beaten. _

_The man spoke of great warriors that descended from the heavens on massive chariots of stone and crystal, their skin the color of sapphires and their powers divine and magnificent; they roamed across the landscape and cleansed the fallen spirits with powers beyond comprehension. With but a wave of one's hand the corrupted were burnt to ash, but left behind a person, no longer driven by madness and hunger the once fallen spirits were cleansed and given respite from their long wait to ascend to their rightful place in the heavens._

_But with the same fire the once sick and dying were healed and given back their life, it was even seen that the once departed were given fresh life once more, souls who have yet to pass and still remain in this realm, giving life once more to remain among the living. The man says that they saved his sons from death and brought back after one warrior saved them from a corrupted, his body was torn and broken, and when the light consumed him he was reborn, healthy and full of hope and bliss._

_There were others that could move the earth with a wave of their hands, and create storms to cast away the demons and create flames from nothing and make the seas churns, and bring forth other being that were born from the elements themselves. That sought out the Hollowed and removed them from the land, and for their actions, for their kindness, they were worships as gods._

_The King of Souls was pleased that his reign could continue and that the innocent that were beyond his reach were safe, but his subjects were furious that these people dared take up such prestigious titles and believe they were gods over humans. They saw these 'gods' as pretenders who thought themselves mighty because they wielded power that other do not, it disgusted them that they thought that just because they were powerful, they believed themselves better than humans. For many years more tales passed through the keep, of these warriors who could perform feats beyond their imagining, how they helped mankind build their great cities and taught them what they needed to know in order to survive._

_But one day, his court played host to a soul like no other on Earth or in Soul Society, for who entered through his door and into his palace, was one of these gods._

_A woman appeared in his throne room, she was not human or a normal mortal, she was unlike anything the king's court had ever witness before. Her skin like sapphire, her eyes like crystals aglow with power and an alien beauty that entrance even the King of Souls, but she had come not in death, but to deliver a message to the one true king of this world._

_'You who watch over this world and rule over the afterlife' she spoke to the king 'What king are you, who cannot defend his subjects from harm, are not all your children equal in your eyes?'_

_'I feel sorrow for the souls that were consumed by the corruption that washed over the world before your coming' Spoke the King of Souls 'But I can no more travel from one world to the other than a fish can travel from one pond to the next."_

_'But if you could, would you protect you children, would you fight to save them?' she asked the king_

_'Yes, they are mine to protect for their purity and mine to punish for their crimes, but I cannot, we are trapped in this pond with no way to escape.' The Soul King responded to her query._

_'But if you could create a channel between the ponds, would you use it?'_

_'This channel cannot be dug with ones hands or with simple tools, it is an impossible feat.' Said the King of Souls_

_'I can teach you as will all my kind, we will give you the tools, and you will maintain the balance between the worlds.' She said, offering her hand to the King, he took it and the union between the two people was made._

* * *

Kyoraku looked through the book a little surprised by the information he was reading, the way it was written sounded like a history book rather than a fictitious tale, and the way they described those powers these 'gods' had, they sounded familiar.

'Could this actually be real?' thought Kyoraku, there was no way it could be true, although, only a few weeks ago hollows were being killed in droves by things so similar to what he was reading.

He read through much of the book, he found many different pieces of information about the agreement between these two groups, which included them teaching the Soul King and his guard how to traverse between Soul Society and the World of the Living. It also detailed how they forged for the King special weapons that did not kill the Hollows, but cleanse them and allowed the tormented souls within to be given peace and sent to Soul Society.

"_Their power was that of the light, a force that has existed since the creation of time and space, it has always existed, it is everywhere, it is pure and it is the embodiment of what is good, noble and just. But this was only a spark to the flames that this power is drawn from, being that transcend flesh, blood and fate, beings of crystal and golden radiance that would make even the most arrogant of men humbled._" Recited Kyoraku, and he then realized something, they used the light as a weapon, and the way it was explained almost sounded like that substance Mayuri had in his lab, he pushed it aside and read more.

"_The light that they wield would cleanse not only hollows and fallen spirits, but the living as well, of sickness, of pain and even death, for none were below its noticed, it protected and loved all who sought its protection. People would say that all their despair and worried were washed away and all that remained was happiness and bliss, and that they felt such serenity that words could not describe._"

'This can't be right, there's no way that these people could be the same thing, it has to be a coincidence' Thought the Eighth Captain, the very thought of the people who had come here could be related to these people had come here over five thousand years ago, it was impossible, wait, was he actually thinking this book was telling the truth.

He read through the book further, finding more details about these people and a strange language that they used, and from what he could surmise was nearly indecipherable aside from the name in which their people were called. Though it wasn't in their native language it was in his.

"_Exiled Ones_" it said, he read further, absorbing every single bit of detail he could to see if he could figure out if these people were the same ones that had come here, and through it all he had found many details that correspond with what was known about these unknown anomalies and that which is written in this book.

He eventually reached the end of the book and found on the last page a picture and a few lines of text, it appeared to be a final meeting between the King of Souls and the Leader of these Exiled Ones, someone who was simply referred to as the Prophet. It spoke of an event that was to take place in the distant future, against an enemy that had driven them from their home and across the stars, about an enemy that seeks to…

Kyoraku's blood ran cold as he read the final verse of the prophecy that was given to the Soul King, so similar and so foreboding, when he saw those words there were only one other such things uttered to him that made him shudder in the possibility he was telling the truth.

'_…worlds will be burnt to ash_." that man, those words he spoke to him before he disappeared _'they will burn this world to ash…'_ could he be part of the army the prophecy spoke of? There was no way this could be real, there was no way, the people who appeared five thousand years ago couldn't be the same people who are here now, but maybe, they are their descendant looking for them.

This didn't make any sense, it was completely crazy, yet the description in this book is exactly the same as that odd substance Mayuri is studying in his lab, could it be that these people have come back to make sure they uphold their end of the bargain. He couldn't think, he needed to speak with someone about this, but who, everyone would think him nuts, maybe Ukitake could help; at least he won't think he is entirely crazy. Kyoraku got up from his seat and took hold of the book, he rushed from the library and towards the thirteenth division, he didn't know why but he felt relieved that these people might be allies, after all; it's better to have powerful allies then enemies.

* * *

**Human World, Kararura Town**

It was nightfall in Kararura town, nearly midnight, not a soul stirred in the night or a living human being was awake at this point in time, it was completely deserted and that was how Draga liked it, completely quiet and no distractions. She was on high alert for anything, from corrupted spirits to demons, she had a simple route around the small town and from what she could see there wasn't anything to worry about other than the fact that demons might be in the vicinity. She skulked around the dark streets in her spirit wolf form, nothing could see her aside from the spirits that she had to defend herself against on occasion, but this night had been uneventful and she didn't have to worry about being attacked.

For several hours she had done nothing but follow the route that had been set out before her and keep her senses on high alert for anything that might be waiting in the alley or next corner, corrupted spirits or demons that may be prowling the night. But she couldn't feel nothing and hear nothing, all but the sound of the wind blowing the leaves and the cold against her skin, there was nothing here aside from herself and the elements. But she had this strange feeling she wasn't alone, every time she went down a street she could swear she saw apparitions and then hear voices in her head, she tried to shake it off as fatigue and overworking herself but she was smarter than that.

At first it was just flashes of certain people fighting, and she didn't pay much attention to it, she had a job to do and she couldn't let herself get distracted, not now, not when they are so close to finding the source of this energy. But she couldn't help herself by being distracted by the splendid phantasms that appeared from thin air, many of them were people fighting against others, warriors in black robes and other in white, similar to those people she saw in her dream on that demon world.

She could make out many different individuals, one was a bald man with a simple bamboo spear, he was fighting and appeared to be losing against a large man with massive white skinned arms that actually extend further up and shield either side of his head. Another was a fight with a young woman with long hair fighting against a very large man with a mask over one half of his face, she doesn't know if it is because of her imagination or some sort of gap in the vision she is receiving but the individuals seem to keep appearing disappearing at random.

Draga doesn't know what to make off all these images she was receiving, she tried to rationalise it, there had to be something here that was giving her these visions, but what could it be that would cause these images to appear. There wasn't anything she knew of that could do this, there had to be something here that was causing this, something she wasn't picking up on, and there had to be something in her vicinity that would cause her to start seeing things.

"Which one?" she heard faintly, Draga's head shot up but she didn't see anyone, but she heard it again "Which one of you is the strongest?"

She saw a flash of the ethereal figures of three people, two in black clothing and another in white a few feet ahead of them, she was shocked to see that the man in white had a hole through his abdomen and a piece of bone on his face.

'Was he like those corrupted spirits?' she thought

"Ichigo run!" shouted the female, Draga's eyes widened as she turned to look at the other man, she saw him, Ichigo was standing there, but he was younger than when she last had a vision of him, in that burning and ruined city. Could what she was seeing right now be a possible past event that occurred here, could this be an echo of an event that transpired in this town, when she heard the sound of flesh being torn she tore her gaze away from the boy.

She turned back to see the man in white had charge forward and actually pierce the girl stomach with his own hand, a sadistic smile on his face as he looked at the girl who was still alive, she grimaced at the sight of such a young girl going through so much pain. There was no way someone could survive such wounds, not even the best shamans could heal someone who had been impaled, not even a resurrection ritual could bring them back fully, even the undead would be fatally wounded by such a strike.

As soon as the white cloth man threw the girl of his hand the vision ended, she shook her head to rid herself of the vision and tried to move on, she needed to focus, but this had to be important, maybe, maybe Ichigo was here, or at least was here at some point. If this operation is a success maybe she could speak with her master to see about trying to find him, he had a destiny ahead of him that cannot be ignored, and she had to find him she had to.

Above her on a roof was a shadowy figure of an unknown man, he was glaring down at Draga and observing her movement, he had been following her for the last twenty minutes now and was curious about what she was. He had orders to lure out his target and also to bring back anything that was out of the ordinary, and finding a spiritual wolf that was actually something much more was definitely out of the ordinary. He had the perfect tool to lure out both his target and also see what this one is capable of; he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white ball, he looking at it between his fingers and marvelled that such a dangerous object could be so small. It was Hollow bait, the perfect tool to lure out his prey, he wondered how this one would do against a large hollow force, he crushed it between his fingers and let the particles spread into the air, and he smiled at the carnage to come. But he had to wonder, which would cause more, the hollows or this little one he was following.

* * *

**Urahara's Shoten**

Urahara sighed to himself as he leaned back in his seat, he had been at it for days now and today was no different from the last three, he would be at this nearly all night and only get a few hours every day before getting back up to search. He looked up at the screen, there hadn't been a single hollow attack today, there had been a few blips here and there but nothing much else, except maybe a strange energy spike near the four seasons hotel where seven signatured popped up out of nowhere.

When they went there they didn't find anything aside from foot prints of eight individuals, and from what they could see they all left within five minutes of being brought there, they were always a step behind these guys; they couldn't catch a break at all. This operation was going down the drain fast, he had noticed that the signatures were moving in a pattern, they would start off near the coast and work their way inland and search the city section by section. So if that was the case then all they had to do was wait for them to make an appearance in an area and then follow, but that didn't work, after the first day they arrived they had been – from what he could tell – actively evading hollows and them.

So finding them in certain areas was impossible to do, and with so many people in the city they couldn't find them among the crowds, so it had become a game of finding the needle in the city sized haystack. He pushed himself away from the terminal and lifted himself out of his chair, he turned around to look at the company that was currently staying in his little shop, Ichigo, Ishida, Sado, Orihime, Shinji, Hiyori, Lisa, Love, Hachigen, Tessai and Yoruichi, they were all here and waiting.

Most of them were sitting down and waiting patiently, keeping their minds occupied with different activities like reading and meditating, others were leaning against the wall and either doing the same or waiting anxiously for the news and the short-tempered portion of the group was pacing around angrily. He walked over slowly, clearly tired from all the work he had been forced to do in the last four days, and they all looked up at the former shinigami captain and waited for him to announce the results of his work.

"I've got nothing." He stated, its wasn't a joke or his attempt to lighten the mood, he truly and seriously had nothing, it had been like that for the majority of the day, they had spent the entire day cooped up in the shop waiting for these guys to make an appearance, there were a few blips here and there but they disappeared in second and never appeared again.

"Damn it, for three days we've been looking for these guys and all we've got to show for it is a sketchy appearance of maybe one of them." Said Ichigo, obviously referring to the guy Shinji saw not three days ago.

"Is there anything, anything that may tell us where their last location could be?" asked Lisa, although she liked nothing more than to read her magazines and do nothing, she was eager to actually do some work and get out of this basement.

"I detected one on the border of the town about six hours ago, but that was a blip, but appeared again fifteen minutes later when that large spike occurred, and then they all just disappeared." Said Kisuke, but he had a theory on why one came back and then reported to the others "It's possible that they might be in the town as we speak."

That got them a little worried

"You think the one you detected discovered this is the most spiritually rich area of the city and told his friends?" asked Ishida

"I do, I haven't gotten any blips inside Kararura town to support that theory, but still, I haven't detected anything else anywhere." Said Kisuke, everyone wore a grim face at the prospect of that.

They didn't like the fact that the enemy was this close to their home turf, if they started up a fight they could cause a lot of collateral damage and that was never good when dealing with strong opponent, they tended to last longer in a fight and cause more damage. Along with the fact they had little to no idea what they could be dealing with, their powers were a complete unknown and from the sights of previous battles they've seen they found the entire area caked with blood or corpses ripped to shreds or cut to pieces.

"Maybe we should go out on patrol, it shouldn't be too hard, and after all, they could be the only ones on the street at this time at night." Said Shinji, everyone could agree with that assessment.

"Alright might as well, but we should split up into teams, that way if we find one we can at least outnumber them." Said Kisuke, being surprisingly commanding in the way he was handling this situation.

But before he could create the teams his early warning detection system went haywire, he whirled on his heels and rushed over to the console; he punched in a few commands on the keyboard and tried to determine what the alert was. Soon he had a map of Kararura town up giving him energy readings all across the town; all across the town Garganta's were popping up, and dozens of hollows were swarming out of them.

In only twenty seconds over eighty hollows had entered the towns region and more were appearing, but the odd think was they were all converging on seven points across the city, at first he didn't realize what was happening and then just as they popped up he realised. Six signatures appeared out of thin air and hollows started dying, the seventh area was also suffering casualties, meaning their undetectable friends was also there, which means this would be the perfect time to get the drop on these guys.

'I don't know whether we're lucky or not.' Though Kisuke.

"We got contacts, hollows; a lot of them." Said Urahara, everyone got to their feet, and moved towards the screen to see where they were concentrated.

"Wait, they're being killed." Stated Ishida, to which Urahara nodded.

"Yeah, and I think we all know who is responsible." Said Urahara, turning to the Quincy with a smirk on his face, they had them.

"Come on, we can't wait for them to finish up! We need to get there before they make a run for it!" shouted Ichigo as he rushed out of the shop, Urahara tried to stop him but he knew it was useless to keep him here.

"That idiot" groaned Ishida, he was always running off by himself and getting into trouble, he would have rushed after him and tried to help but Urahara stopped him before he could.

"He can handle himself" stated Urahara "Listen up we'll split up and locate these target and engage them if necessary, try to negotiate their surrender, we need them alive."

Urahara pointed to Ishida and Orihime before saying, "take this one" and then pointed to the screen where one of signatures was engaging a large number of hollows. "It's a fourth seat power level and shouldn't be a problem for the both of you."

"Lisa, Hiyori" He pointed towards another point "This one, but be careful its lieutenant class, so use your masks"

"Shinji, Mashiro" he pointed to another, where many were being killed of fairly quickly "This one is a third seat, but it has that odd energy signature that conflicts with Reiatsu so be careful."

"Chad, Love, Yoruichi, that this one" it showed off a large amount of fluctuating energy and was devastating the hollows in its vicinity "Its captain level, so be careful"

"Tessai, Hachigen you're with me" he pointed to the strongest raw energy signature present "This one is ours"

They all nodded and rushed to the exit, but Urahara turned to the console and entered a few commands into the computer and then rushed off, a message popped us saying that the signal had been sent to Soul Society. But as he left out the door another signal turned up, showing off another two signatures, one was an anomaly which was what they were looking for and the other was something else entirely, and they were fighting.

* * *

**Soul Society**

**Thirteenth Division**

Ukitake was sitting in his office and speaking with his oldest friends Kyoroko, both were seating on the comfortable sofas and facing one another, he had arrived ten minutes ago and when he saw him he had a grim demeanour as if he had found something quite disturbing. Which he shared with him in detail, the tale he had told him was exactly that, a possibly fictitious history of the creation of soul society and the first soul reapers.

Ukitake wasn't one for superstition, as ironic as that may be, he just couldn't believe that five thousand years ago a group of deities appeared out of nowhere and saved mankind and taught to first soul reapers how to purify hollows. True he didn't even know what the true history of soul society was and how the first soul reapers came into being, but he didn't believe that they were created by something other than the soul king as warriors to defend the living.

"Kyoraku, as much as I would like to believe you, I can't possibly be expected to believe in such a whimsical fairy tale" said the Captain of squad thirteen, he had expected his old friend to be playing a joke on him, but when he didn't laugh or say 'alright you got me' he was a little worried.

"I don't believe it myself; it sounds so ludicrous that the person who wrote it would have been a laughing-stock for the rest of his life." Said Kyoraku, but his words betrayed something he didn't think he would have heard from his friend in all these years, worry. "This book says a lot about these people and a couple of other things."

"What about, giant chariots that flied across the sky, people with azure skin that taught mankind how to build and live, about some woman who came to Soul Societyand spoke to the king of souls himself and taught his subject how to cleanse hollows?" Said Ukitake incredulously, to which Kyoraku nodded. "How does this have to do with anything, I thought you were researching those words that you heard from that man in the world of the living."

"I was and came across this" said Kyoraku, pointing to the book that sat on the table in the middle of the two captains, the same book that held a very disturbing amount of information regarding the creation of the first soul reapers and these beings. "And when I read it I found several similarities between these people that appeared five thousand years ago and these invaders that turned up a month ago."

"Similarities?" breathed Ukitake, true he was skeptical, after all it could be just a coincidence that there was similarities between them and he had search an entire library it was only natural he would find something that would match up to these people they were searching for.

"Remember that unknown energy that Mayuri was researching?" to which Ukitake nodded "Well according to the book, it was a great light that burned away the corrupted and healed to pure, it was said that it brought bliss and happiness to all who felt its touch"

"So you're saying that the energy from the lab and from this book, are related?" Asked Ukitake, not liking where this was going, it did sound exactly like how Mayuri described it, it cleansed hollows and utterly destroyed their forms and leaved the soul completely unharmed.

"Yes, but there is more to this" said Kyoraku "They also had one that could use the elements themselves: Earth, Wind, Water and Fire."

"Just like…" he didn't need to finish that sentence, Kyoraku already knew the words before he would ever need to speak them. "It could still be a coincidence."

Kyoraku opened the book to the final page, it showed off two pieces, the first a mosaic picture showing off the king of souls speaking with a man of blue skin in long white robes and holding a large staff with a purple headpiece, below it was called the last meeting.

"Read it" said Kyoraku, Ukitake looked down at the other page and saw a small amount of writing pertaining to the image beside it.

When their work was done and their duty fulfilled, the great ones took their leave, leaving the king of souls and his warriors to defend humanity until the end of time, as the ships departed and sailed across the heaven to the unknown. The Leader of these people – a prophet – spoke with the King of Souls one last time, but these were not works of goodbye, they were words of warning of what was to come.

'Listen well King of Souls' said the prophet 'My people's time here is ending, but this will not be the last time we visit this world'

'We still seek that which we have sought for the last fifteen thousand years' he continued 'For we are exiles from our home, cast out by a great and terrible evil'

'An evil that seeks to bring only chaos to all things and bring darkness across the stars, many worlds have already fallen to the demons that lurk in the greater dark, and more shall fall.'

'But it is said that in time a force shall arise to combat this evil, we will one day return here and I ask that you lend you strength to our cause, the army of the light will be created and we will halt the darkness.'

'No more worlds will fall to the legion of flame, no more worlds will be burned to ash' said the prophet 'The darkness will be stopped, or all creation will be consumed in flames'.

Ukitake looked at the words written there and for some reason he couldn't help but shudder, he looked up at his old friend to see him looking at him with a grim stare, Ukitake could see that he believed those words written there, but why he didn't know.

"Do you understand now?" asked Kyoraku, to which Ukitake didn't respond for a moment, he still didn't want to believe that something like this could be real, but he didn't know if his denial was because he thought it fiction or that he was actually scared of it being true.

"I… I'm trying to understand, but… how does this relate to these people… and this warning. Why does it concern you so much?" asked Ukitake, he could see him friend face never lost that grim deposition.

"Because when we cornered the man and he disappeared he said something to me." Said Kyoraku, Ukitake was surprised, he read the report and it didn't say anything that anything relating to what the man said. "He said 'gather you armies and prepare, for they will burn this world to ash should either of us fails'"

Ukitake now understood, if that man said that the enemy that they were looking for was the same as the group this 'prophet' warned them about, then it was likely that these people were looking to stop them from destroying this world and his warning was true. He thought long and hard about what he had been told, if this was the same group of people who came here five thousand years ago then they may be here to ask for their aid in stopping this legion of flames, and although some have killed souls, many have cleansed them.

"We should speak with the captain-commander about this." Said Ukitake, he was quite serious about giving this information to the old man.

"That might not be the best idea" said Kyoraku "After all he would probably think we're nuts, and I don't think he even knows what the true history of Soul Society is, we should wait, and if these people do come, we can speak with them and learn the truth from their mouths."

Ukitake nodded in agreement, they were looking for these people, so when they capture them they could mend fences if this information was accurate and if not they would be able to gather Intel on a possible new enemy. They spared a few more words with one another before they decided to retire for the night, it was nearly midnight and they didn't want to stay up to late, they had work to do tomorrow, Kyoraku moved to leave but before he could bit his friend good night an alarm went off around Soul Society.

"This is Lieutenant Kurotsuchi, Captain Sui-Feng, Captain Unohana, Captain Kuckiki, Captain Kyoraku, Captain Muguruma, Captain Hitsugaya, Captain Ukitake and their Lieutenants are to report to the Senkaimon immediately." The voice of Luietenant Kurotsuchi echoed across the entire Seireitei, obviously this was meant for only one thing, there people they were looking for had been found.

Rukia Kuckuki appeared in the room and greeted her captain, she was not surprised to see Kyoraku there, and without another word aside from the laid back captain they left.

"Let's go." Said Kyoraku, shunpo-ing from the Thirteenth Division towards the Senkaimon Gate, their journey there was quick, arriving in less than five minutes, when they arrived they found the other captain and their lieutenants had arrived ahead of them.

"What's the situation." Asked Kyoraku, Sui-Feng spoke up first.

"Six Anomalies have been detected in Kururaru town, as well as a large hollow incursion" She reported, behind her was the Kido Corp, who were setting up the gate for the captains to travel through "From what we know the people already there are moving to apprehend them, they can keep them busy long enough for us to arrive and capture them."

"Any idea on their level of strength?" asked Kyoraku

"Fourth Seat to mid-range Captain" she stated, Kyoraku didn't like that, he hoped that they could handle themselves by the time they got there, and after all this was five minutes ago and they haven't even departed yet.

"Taicho's the gate is ready" called out a Kido Corp operative who was maintaining the gate, they all looked and confirmed that the gate was open and ready for use, without a single moment of hesitation they charged through it.

In only a matter of seconds where they in Kararura town, high above the small town and ready to move out, Kyoraku used his senses to pick up the location of everyone, he couldn't sense many hollows, but he could sense nearly everyone else. It would seem that everyone was going to one of the six points, but he sensed one more area that they aren't travelling towards, he would have to search it himself.

"Alright, we need to split up and search for them" said Kyoraku "Everyone pick a target and go after It, but remember we want them alive and preferably unharmed."

"If they resist I cannot guarantee their life expectancy." Said Sui-Feng, but before she could shunpo towards a target Kyoraku's hand descended on her shoulder, she looked over to ask why he is stopping her but the grim glare he was giving her made her stop for a moment.

"We need them alive" he said in a low serious tone "And I expect you to bring them back as such, am I understood."

She looked at him in shock, that he would be so serious about this surprised her, and that grim demeanour that he showed made it very apparent that their lives were very important, but as to why, no one could tell.

"Move out" he ordered, and in an instant everyone disappeared in random direction, looking for their targets, but Kyoraku turned to the one where he could only sense hollows and charged off towards it, his lieutenants in tow.

"Why is it so important to keep these people alive?" Nanoa asked him, she was a little surprised by his seriousness about the fact that he wanted them all alive.

"Because I have a theory on who they may be, and I really don't want to piss them off by killing their men when this all could have been avoided." He said, leaving an even more confused Nanoa to wonder how he even discovered who these people could be and what made him give pause to using lethal force against them.

* * *

**Oh, things are getting interesting now, sorry for creating a suspenseful ending but what can I say, I'm just like that. I'll get the next chapter up next week on Monday, hope you enjoyed the read.**


	8. Act 1, Chapter 07: Pick your Partners

**Hello everybody, hope you have had an excellent week, I have, went to see World War Z, I highly recommend it. Also for anyone who bothers to read this things, sorry to disappoint you but this is a simple opening for the fights to come, there is some action, but they will come later.  
**

**Now the reviews:**

**Leapinglemur: Yeah, looking forward to next Monday, that would be a first, I'll try to keep up the awesome, but its hard not to. SEE WHAT I DID THERE GOD I AM FULL OF MYSELF LOL**

**Erstellung666: Glad you want more, here is some mour, take it, eat it, and savor the taste.**

**Arrankor: Glad you like, here enjoy**

**ultima-owner: yeah I thought I would put that in there, after all we see it sometimes in the Anime they go there.**

**99 Luffy: Well here it is, also the Legion probably wont be involved for a while now, but stay tuned they are sure to come.**

**And that us the reviews, now on with the story.**

* * *

**United Against the Legion of Flames**

**Chapter 07: Pick your Partner**

Smoldering remains, that was all that surrounded him, the remains of the many now dead corrupted spirits, their corpses had been charred black in contrast to their white and grey skin, and many had been turned to ash, Raralas twirled his staff in hand and looked at his work. It was fairly simple dispatching the creatures, using his blink ability and mirror images it was easy enough and then all he had to do was burn them away, but now that his work was done he would need to escape before someone noticed his presence.

"Wow, what smells good!" Raralas turned to see three people moving towards him, three very odd people, one was a very large and round man, he wore an olive-green tuxedo with a yellow bow tie, and he also had a pink moustache and similar colored hair with a black cross-bone design on the crown of his head.

The second individual was a tall, well built, and lightly tan-skinned man; he has cornrowed hair and a handlebar moustache, which is connected to his long sideburns. His eyes are covered with a pair of rectangular-shaped glasses and his attire consists of a white muscle shirt with regular pants and a blue apron.

The final man who was leading the other two is a tall, lean-built man with grey eyes hidden under a striped dark green and white bucket hat, which hide his eyes along with his long messy blond hair that peaks out from under the rim. He wears a black coat, which sports a white diamond pattern along its bottom half, with a dark green shirt and pants underneath and wears wooden sandals as shoes, all in all these people were a peculiar bunch.

"Hey, did you cause this barbeque?" asked the jovial man with the bucket hat, Raralas stared at him for a moment, he could obviously see these creatures and was likely in league with whoever was chasing after him and his group.

The Archmage turned away and decided to leave, he had no reason to speak with these people, and no reason to fight them, although there was always a possibility that they could be demons or at least possessed by them, it was not uncommon.

"You didn't answer my question." Said the man with the hat, he had appeared in front of Raralas in a sudden burst of speed, one which took the high elf by surprise, he didn't expect him to be able to move at speeds such as that, a very interesting ability indeed.

"Interesting" said Raralas, looking at the man beneath his hood, he could sense the energy that was within the man's body, it was similar to the energy in the area around him but much denser, and the theory of this man being a demon or at least was possessed, meaning he wasn't going to leave without a fight. "Your body appears to use the same energy that is present in this area, but it is a lot denser, I wonder, is it exposure to the environment or is it because you are the cause of this area being so dense."

Kisuke looked at him confused; didn't he know what reiatsu was? Maybe this guy didn't know who they were.

"Tell me: why have you been following me and my allies?" asked Raralas in a monotone.

"Well it's not often you see people of your caliber show up around here, we wouldn't mind knowing who you people are and what you want." Replied the Man jovially, sbringing out a fan and snapping it over his face to hide his expression, but Raralas could see the seriousness in his eyes, one that demanded an explanation from him.

"Sadly I cannot answer that question to you, now if you will excuse me." He said, and in a flash of light he disappeared and then reappeared in a flash behind Urahara and continued walking, Urahara was surprised that he was able to do that, he didn't know of anything that could be considered teleportation, sure Sinodo was similar but that was rapid movement that made appear so, but this, this was something else entirely. "I need to leave."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that." Said Urahara, his tone growing serious and a dark shadow was cast over his eyes; these people were here for a reason and he couldn't allow them to leave without at least knowing why and what they were.

Raralas halted when the large pink haired man appeared a few feet ahead of him, the Arch Mage could feel the energies within him churn and take shape, he was likely casting a spell, damn nuisances, and turning toward the jovial man in green Raralas could see him holding cane very tightly.

"I was afraid of this, I don't know what you are, but if you are who I suspect you to be, then I have to kill you." Said Raralas, gripping his staff tightly and allowing the crystal on it to brighten and he began chanting his next spell. The Archmage hoped he didn't need to rely on using all of his strength to defeat these people, but seeing as many of them had high level of this demonic energy it was likely that he would be fighting something that had the raw power of a Pit Lord but the intelligence and cunning of a Dreadlord, not a pleasant scenario.

Urahara pulled Benihime from his cane and readied it, and far behind Tessai was bringing up a barrier to prevent his escape and also make sure that what happens here doesn't affect the humans nearby, while Hachigen was busy preparing a Kido to ensnare the man.

"I take it you're not going to surrender?" Pointing his sword at the hood man, he didn't really want to fight him, after all the remains of the hollows nearby showed that he wasn't one to be taken lightly, and his power was a very big unknown at the moment.

"I've seen what you do to your prisoners." said Raralas, his eyes shining a bright blue which surprised Urahara, then the ground beneath him erupted in power, he brought up his hand and condensed it into a ball of energy that glowed many shades of purple, blue and silver. "And I have oh so much to live for."

* * *

Hiyori and Liza landed in Karakura Community Park, but from all the hollow bodies that were present it was more like a graveyard, dozens of them have been torn apart and utterly brutalized by whatever they were fighting against. Blood caked the ground and its metallic scent filled the air, they didn't halt in their search for the cause of such carnage, the sound of flesh tearing and blood being spilled drew their attention to the far end of the park, fresh bodies came into view. They rushed forward looking for the person responsible for this entire massacre, and did they find it, standing before them in the middle of a field of dead hollows was a woman, covered in black leather jacket and jeans along with midnight black hair with a large claymore resting on her shoulder.

It was a six foot long blade of solid metal, easily as tall as its wielder and the blade was of pure silver and covered in a reddish hue of unknown energy that looked almost like blood, as it leaked off the blade and feel to the ground and disappeared before even touching it. The hilt and cross guard was made of a dragon skull with sapphire eyes, its maw extending slightly onto the blade with intricate patterns of flames running further up the weapon lengths; the hilt was a simple cloth wrapped piece of steal with a crystal pommel.

The woman turned towards the two Visored and they were shocked even more that the girl was deathly pale, like a corpse, her skin tone nearly matched the moon that hung in the sky above them, but the most surprising thing about her appearance was her eyes. They were glowing the light and coldness of many winter past, even though they glowed with unnatural power, it did little to illuminate her face in the night. As they looked at her they could feel reiatsu, but it wasn't coming from her, but the blade that now was now resting at her side nimbly, they could feel the souls of dozens of people in that horrific weapon, they could have sworn that they saw faces appear from the red hue that covered the sword and hear their screams of the souls trapped within.

As terrifying as her appearance and that blade could be, her voice, a hollow and dark echo resonated with her words, it could only be described as metallic and gave a feeling of dread when heard; it was a tone that showed that the owner stood between the world of the living and the dead.

"Flee" she said, her voice ringing across the park and sending chills down their spines, they knew they had to fight this woman, but the fact that her very presence was despairing didn't help them gather the nerve to be the first to strike.

"What was that?!" shouted Hiyori, either forgetting about the dark metallic voice the woman's words carried or composing herself enough to shout out at the woman, and either case it could only end with her antagonizing the woman in attacking them "I ain't running away from you, you got that baldy!"

Lisa would have face palmed at Hiroyi's temper, it was going to be the death of her and likely Lisa as well if she wasn't able to reel it in, but she couldn't take her eyes off this woman without risking being cut in half by that sword. She saw the bodies that were here, they had been literally cut and torn apart by this woman, and from what she saw, she didn't have a scratch on her, so that means she was good with that blade, almost frightfully so.

"Both of you" she said, her dark words drawing them out of whatever thoughts they were having "Your essence, it is similar to these vermin."

The woman looked at the dead body of a hollow next to her before planting her foot on it and leaning towards the two Visored girls, her glowing orbs of frozen death boring into their very souls as she looked at them.

"Why are you here, children?" she asked in a flat monotone, which still carried the ringing and dark undertone of death and malice

"We're here to…" started Lisa, and much to her annoyance was interrupted by Hiyori who yelled out over her and antagonized the woman further.

"We're here to kick your ass!" she shouted, the woman looked at the girl for a moment and to Lisa's horror a dark smile crept onto the pale woman's face, then the woman raised her hand and her fingers were shrouded with red energy and then then she chopped her hand down in Hiyori's direction.

For a second Lisa didn't know what she had done, then she noticed out of her peripheral vision a red light, she turned to look and saw an exact red ethereal replica of the woman sword over Hiyori ready to impale her through the back. Lisa didn't have time to act as the sword shot down at the defenseless visored, as it drew closer however it was halted by a blade, behind Hiyori who turned to see someone had saved her from being impaled was holding off the sword with his Zanpokuto.

They were surprised to see that their rescuer was Renji Abarai, he had his Shikai released and was holding the ethereal blade at bay, but he was actually struggling to keep it away, and then the sword simple disappeared. Turning she saw the woman again, and instead of being disappointed or worried about another combatant she was smiling predatorily, like right now was the best thing that could have happened to her. A whoosh from Lisa's right alerted her to another person, standing there was captain of the Sixth Division Byakuya Kuchiki; he had his Zanpokuto drawn and a mask of indifference as always on his face.

"Surrender" order Byakuya, the woman smiled before she laughed, her voice echoing across the park and sending chills down everyone's spines, it was like hearing steel clashing against steel; it was a deathly wail that they have never heard before in their entire lives.

"Why?" she said, her tone carrying amusement that couldn't be identified by her dark smile "Now that you are here, I can have a little fun, before I have to get back to patrolling this dump."

"If you fight us, you will not survive" said Byakuya, his words were chiding as if trying to educate a child that her effort would fail no matter what she did or she did it.

"What makes you think you can kill what is already dead?" she stated, a sadistic smile on her face as a whirlwind of red energy appeared around her, filling the air with a malicious energy that made everyone feel like they were in the midst of a battle. "Come, my sword hungers for you blood."

In an instant Hiyori donned for her hollow mask and charged in while yelling out her Shikai command.

"Butcher Them: Kubikiri Orochi!" her blade changed into a large cleaver with serrated jaw like blades, she leaped at the woman who still had a sick smile on her face, and swung down at her. The woman raised her sword and blocked the attack with one hand on the hilt of her sword, surprising the rest of them at the woman's strength, Hiyori looked down in shock at the woman before the visored was flung away with a simple flick of the wrist.

"Weak." Morgana hissed, before shooting her hand forward, and a black shadowy claw shot out and grasped Hiyori's leg and pulled her back towards the woman, she flipped the young visored over her and slammed her into the ground. Creating a small indentation on the ground and then dragging her back and throwing her back at the other three, Byakuya and Lisa moved aside but Renji tried to catch the little visored, and for his effort was thrown through a tree along with the Visored.

"I hope the rest of you put up a better challenge, we Death Knights love a good fight." She said, before gripping her blade with both hands and charging forward, while Lisa and Byakuya released their Zanpakuto's.

* * *

Carmila removed her hand from the spirits forehead and watched as it body crumbled to ash a small blue orb shot up into the sky, she knew that it was the purified soul that was trapped within the corrupted container, she was happy that she could give these souls some rest. She looked around and saw dozens of piles of ash, she had tallied here to long and now was at risk of being caught, but as she turned to leave she noticed two people standing just down the street from her. A young woman with green hair and goggles wearing a form fitting white body suit and a blonde man with long hair that was lopsided at the brow who was wearing black robes with a white cloak.

Carmila looked at them as they slowly approached, one had his hand on the hilt of his sword while the other was simple skipping along beside him, they stopped and took a look around at the carnage and when they fell upon her he spoke.

"Yo." He said raising his hand in greeting.

"Hello." Replied Carmial courteously, she realized now that this man must have been the same one Augustine saw three days ago "Tell me where you the one that was following one of our people three days ago?"

"Did he have a hat, a trench coat and a beard?" asked Shinji, to which Carmila nodded "Yeah that was me, so mind telling me why you are here?"

"I am sorry I cannot divulge such information to an unknown party" replied Carmila "Speaking of which, what are you exactly?"

"What do you mean?" asked Shinji confused with her line of questioning.

"You aren't human, you are similar to these creatures here, are you spirits as well, and possible stuck on this plane." She asked, to which Shinji was even more confused, did she even know he was a shinigami or that she was trespassing on their territory.

"No, I'm a shinigami" he said, hoping to get some sort of reaction from her, and he did, she cocked her head to the side and sported a confused expression.

"I am sorry, I know not what that is" she replied

"Well a shinigami is a soul…" just as he was about to clarify what a shinigami was two people shunpo'ed into the area, to the woman's left appeared Toshiro Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto.

"Captain Hirako, Kuna-san" said Toshiro addressing the two visored to his left before turning and facing the woman who was staring at them, he could not feel any reiatsu from her but that strange energy that he was warned about during the meeting he could feel. It was strange, it felt tranquil, but at the same time frightening, like a lit flame for a moth, beautiful to look upon, but deadly to touch and he didn't want to end up like the latter.

"I am Captain Hitsugaya, I am here to take you into custody." Stated Toshiro

"What are the charges?"

"The disruption of the balance of souls in the world of the living and also creating chaos inside soul society." To which he earned a completely confused looked from the woman, she obviously had no idea what he was talking about.

"The disruption of the balance of souls? I am purifying them of taint and sending them on their way to the afterlife, what crime is that?" asked Carmila, to which Toshiro scowled

"You are causing more harm than good with your ability, and I am here to take you in for questioning regarding who you are and what you are doing here." Said Toshiro; drawing his Zanpokuto and holding it deafly in one hand.

"I will not go with you, I have order, and your laws do not apply to me, boy." She said, which ticked him off a little for being called a boy, but he brushed the anger aside and readied his Zanpokuto to fight.

"Then I will take you down by force and drag you back." Said Toshiro who charged her, but Carmila simply stood her ground and waited for him to approach, as he swung his sword down she raised her hand and caught his blade. This surprised them all, Carmila looked down at the boy and her hand began to glow brightly and Toshiro watched as his Zanpokuto began to crack, and he felt and heard Hyorinmaru scream in pain as the glow spread across his blade. Pulling back he freed his Zanpokuto from the woman's grasp and watched her carefully, she was able to stop his attack and actually hurt his Zanpokuto spirit with her touch, what kind of power did she wield that could do that.

"I am sorry for hurting him" Carmila said, surprising Toshiro, her hand was bleeding slighty, her power had saved her from losing it, but the edge and power the boy used was strong enough to pierce her defense. "But I cannot allow you to take me away from here, there is still work to be done, and you must not interfere."

She drew her sword and shield and readied it, moving her shield forward and pulling back her blade; Shinji and Matsumoto unsheathe their Zanpokutos and readied to fight, while Carmila simply prepared to defend herself against the onslaught of these four unknown shinigami.

* * *

Yoruichi, Chad and Love rushed towards the location of one of the anomalies, they could hear the sound of the battle form a great distance, the sound of bones and bodies being broken and the shattering of stone and mortar. Obviously whoever was fighting was doing a great amount of damage, and then suddenly it halted, and a moment later they appeared around the corner to see an almost grand sight, all around them they could see the bodies of many hollows.

They were dead, no they more than dead, they were tenderized, they had gotten the shit kicked out of them and then the rest of their internal organs before the guy did them in, craters both in the ground and on buildings could be seen. All over what was left of the mostly intact hollows were many fist size holes, so whoever did this really did some damage, they looked around and found that most of them had been beaten to death, there were no cut marks or laceration in their flesh.

"Up there" said Chad, pointing towards something standing on top of a large hollow, Yoruichi and Love could see him as well; he was standing over a very heavily beaten hollow the size of an elephant.

He wore a simple jacket over a tank top and blue jeans, and also wore a baseball cap on his head that shielded his eyes from view and cast a shadow over his face, but they could tell that this guy had to be a tough one to do all this in such a short time. As they were watching a single hollow tried to sneak up behind, it lunged at the man who looked none the wiser to the creatures attack, they watched as it drew closer and anxiously thought he was actually going to be killed. Then faster than a blur his arm shot up and he struck the hollow in the face without even looking back at it, the hollows mask shattered before it was knocked away from the man and slammed into the ground and then bounced along it several time before impacting against the nearby building wall.

It was dead, its face had caved in and the shard of its mask had impaled themselves into the hollows true face, but what surprised them was the fact that when he attack he didn't make physical contact with the hollow. He actually created enough force from the attack that it struck the hollow instead of his fist, which was a feat very few would be capable of and even fewer could master, and he did it on a whim to take down something that was behind him, no wonder these hollows looked so mess up.

He turned and leapt off the large hollow and dusted his hands off, as he turned to leave he noticed the three of them standing there, he stood there for a minute before he did something that took them a little by surprise.

"Hello citizens, how are you this eh… evening?" said the man, to which they looked at him with their own surprise, was he actually trying to pass this off as nothing happened, there was no way he could think that would work.

"Stop playing around, we know you did this." said Love, to which surprised the man again.

"You can see them?" he asked "Odd, usually normal people can't see these things."

He looked at them for a moment before he smiled widely and stated.

"That means you people are not normal, so then what are you?" he was actually quite cheerful and upbeat for someone that just killed a bunch of hollows in a very brutal way, kind of reminded them of Kisuke.

"Tell you what, why don't you come with us and we can have a little chat at a friend's place, how does that sound?" asked Yoruichi, she didn't really want to get into a fight with this guy, the damage he did here was pretty severe and if they did fight she couldn't account for the damage he could do to all three of them.

"Sorry, no can do." he replied apologetically, to which Yoruichi cursed at, now she had to fight him "I have orders and I can't really be socializing while working, so maybe another time."

"We can't let you leave?" Stated Love in a very serious voice, readying himself to summon his mask and his Shikai

"Oh and why is that?" asked the man in the baseball cap, before Love could reply the sound of four people appearing via shunpo sounded across the intersection, standing before him now were Captain Sui-Feng and Captain Muguruma along with their lieutenants Omaeda and Hisagi.

Aaron looked around and at the people that had just appeared out of nowhere, he took in each of them before turning back to the man he was talking to before.

"Friends of yours?" he said jerking his thumb at the people that had just turned up.

"Yeah" Love said, grimacing that having seven people here to take on one man seemed a little overkill, but still better to have more than enough then have only enough. "I advise you surrender, those two aren't people you want to mess with."

"Oh, they don't seem so bad, they can't be worse than some of the people I've met." He replied heartily.

"You will surrender or we will force you into submission." Sui-Feng said in a heated tone

"But I haven't done anything wrong." Said Aaron

"You are trespassing on our territory and also killing hollows that are also under our jurisdiction." Said Kensai

"Can't a man defend himself from harm when something wishes to inflict it upon him?" Aaron asked, to which they two Captain scowled at his question. "Well, how about I leave and not cause any more trouble? Okay?"

"No" said Kensai, Aaron sighed before looking around at the people, he could sense the same energy in all of them and they were strong, one on one he could win, but with this many he might be a little outnumbered.

"So… are you gonna fight me fair and square or gang up on me?" his response to the question was all of them charging at him, some drawing their swords, others summoning some strange armor and others going bare handed, he simple mumbled to himself as they approached. "Now that's just rude."

* * *

Elyssire finished off another corrupted spirit with a hail of Moonfire, the beasts were easy to dispatch and cleanse, the only problem was their numbers, they were simple coming at her from all directions and she had to resort to using a good deal of her power to defend herself against them all. She didn't turn when she heard one charge her from behind, she waved her hand and the ground beneath the spirit erupted in vines, and ensnared the creature, preventing it from moving a single inch without the thorns digging into its skin.

She approached and raised her hand towards the creature and with a gesture the spirits body was blown apart by a sunfire spell, nothing was left after the ray of energy blew apart the creatures form. She retracted her hand and prepared to move away from this position when her keen sense heard something, she turned to see four people behind her, three woman and a young man, she could see their surprise to see someone like her here, but luckily she still had her hood on.

The oldest among them was a slender and very youthful woman with blue eyes and black hair which was worn as a large braid down the front of her chest, she wore a white cloak over her shoulders and beneath that simple black robes.

The one behind her was a tall, young looking woman with grey eyes and short messy silver hair with two thin shoulder-length braids on the right side of her face. She also wears thin dangling red earring on each ear and had a strange wooden crest strapped to her left arm, and a sword that was strapped to her waist on the same side, she wondered who these people could be.

The third woman was the youngest of the three, she was of average height, has brown eyes and long, waist-length orange hair. She also has a hairpin attacked to her collar and was wearing a simple white dress.

The final individual was a young man with straight, chin-length raven-colored hair that hangs mostly on one sides of his face; he has fair skin and blue eyes. He was wearing an all-white, form-fitting, high-collared tunic that had several crosses on it.

"You should leave this place, it is dangerous here." Elyssire said to them before she moved to leave, she walked towards the far end of the road and planned on shifting into a bird and flying away when the woman spoke up.

"Do not worry; we are more than capable of handling ourselves." The oldest woman spoke, her voice was softly spoken and kind, but Elyssire could tell that her words carried a very dark edge to them, not toward her, but more of a natural tone that was being hidden behind her kind voice and words.

"I understand; do not follow me." She stated, before continuing to move away from the four.

"I'm sorry but I cannot allow you to leave." Said the eldest woman, Elyssire turned and looked at her, she still had the smile on her face but she knew it was an act on her part to appear docile and weak.

"You do not have to power to keep me here, so do not act as if you do." Stated Elyssire, who continued to walk away from them, she heard the sound of a sword being released from a sheath and she halted, she turned to look and see the eldest woman had drawn her sword. "Do not attempt to stop me from departing; you are no match against me."

"Please come with me." She asked politely

"No" replied Elyssire, she was about to turn around when she felt a very strong force descend upon her, it felt like the world was bearing down on her shoulders, she could feel herself straining to keep herself upright and the sweet began to dampen her brow. She looked up to see that the woman was standing there staring at her with a plain expression, it was her, she was the one who was giving off this power, Elyssire went rigid and grasped her staff tighter.

"Please, I do not wish to hurt you, if you surrender you and your friends will not be harmed." She said, but Elyssire didn't respond instead she raised her hand to the heavens and soon above her a cyclone began to form and the winds began to pick up and lightning races across the sky.

"I care little for who you are, as for my allies, if you attempt to harm them, they will kill you all." Declared Elyssire, and soon the lightning descended towards Retsu Unohana who raised her Zanpokuto to defend herself.

* * *

Augustine leaped away from the claw that descended towards his head, the assassin had been fighting for his life for the last ten minutes now, this wasn't good, his activities would be detected soon and then those people would be coming for him. He landed a few feet from his attacker, his gift was the only thing keeping him alive at this moment, his keen senses picked up the sound of something coming up behind him, and he turned on the balls of his feet to see two large serrated blade arms coming towards his neck from both his left and right.

Soon the corrupted spirit had its arms cross over its chest with its attack ended, but Augustine was not harmed in the slightest, looking down the spirit say that its blades had been cut in half; blood spurted out from the stumps that remain before it looked back at the human. Who impassively swung his cutlass up at the spirit, carving a deep laceration from its groin to its head; its body fell away and fell open at the same time spilling an assortment of blood and internal organs onto the floor. Then the one that attacked before lunged at him, Augustine turned to look at the creature and when it raised both its massive claws to attack her struck first, with speed and precision never before seen in a mortal swordsman he struck four times in less than a second.

The hollow remained motionless for a good few seconds before its head departed its shoulders, and then both its arms fell away from its sides, and then its torso fell of its waist, leaving a small pile of assorted body parts on the road. There was one thing people barely knew about Augustine, and that was he was an accomplished swordsman, likely the best in the fleet compared to the other warriors who wield a blade, only someone who wielded magic could possibly overcome him. But there were only a few who could defeat him in a straight up fight, and that was because their magic protected then and also they were just as skilled as he was with the cutlasses he now carried.

He looked around to see a dozen or so were charging towards him, their claws ready to sink into his flesh and rip him limb from limb, he sighed to himself, he knew for certain he wasn't going to die, but the fact that these animals were taking him away from his work annoyed him. He spun his cutlasses in had hand to rid them of some of the blood, he then readied himself by taking a deep breath and closing his eyes and letting his instincts guide him on the best course. That was why he was such a good swordsman, not because of his skill, that was only part of it, it just told him the best method to strike, but his instincts told him the best time to strike.

Augustine could hear every footstep that they took, he could hear their growls and breathing, he could feel the taint that had turned them into what they were now flow off their forms like a pheromone, and when the time was right, he struck. He lashed out to the one of his left cutlass, slicing off its claw that moved to rip off the Gilnean's head; the severed limb fell away from the rest of the beast's body before he cut into the white skinned beast's leg, forcing the beast to its knees. Augustine then turned upon the hollow of his right, aiming for its head, but it raised its arm to block the strike thinking its heirro strong enough, it wasn't, the limb was severed just below the elbow and before it could scream or thrash about the second swung of the other sword cut off its head.

The Gilnean assassin turned back towards the first and sent a decapitating swipe at the creatures bowed head, its insect-like head parted from its shoulders cleanly and left a neatly sliced stump, he turned stab his sword through another's skull before he ripped it up from the crown of the beast's head, splitting its skull in half. Augustine swung his released sword overhead and then in front of him to parry a claw aimed for his chest, the claw and the spirit sailed past his right hand side and he turned to face it and swung down for another decapitating swing. Its head fell from its shoulder cleanly and its body fell for the ground. In the span of two seconds four hollows had been killed, and more were comings, he spun around and reversed the grip on the cutlass in his left hand and jammed it through the skull of another hollow. He released his hold of his weapon and reached into his coat and pulled out a flintlock pistol, he took aim and fired, the bullet travelled faster than the eye of human perception as well as the hollows and blew out the back of its head.

He ducked under the swing of another hollow he spun on his heels and slashed at the creature's waist, cutting it in half, he then rose quickly and swung it down on another hollow's head, cutting through its head and torso, before stopping in its stomach. He released his hold on his second cutlass and drew his second pistol and fired it at another that was a short distance from him, he dropped both pistols and turned to retrieve his cutlasses. He pulled them free from the two corpses and then faced down one that was charging at his front, he readied his blades and when it attacked he disarmed it; both its arms flew free from its body, and then another strike severed its legs. It landed on the stumps of its legs and with no way to defend itself, all it could do was stare up in shock at the human that had bested it and then its head parted from its shoulders that became a geyser of blood.

Turning he saw six more to deal with, then he could get out of here, he moved to charge and finish this but something happened that surprised him, the hallows were cut apart by an in-perceivable blur of black and pink. They had been cut down and their bodies were now disintegrating fairly quickly, Augustine looked on as he saw that amongst the remains of the dead creature was a single figure, a man with a conical hat and a pink kimono draped over his shoulders. In his left hand was a katana like blade and on his hip and still sheathed was a shorter blade, the former was covered in a thin layer of blood likely from being used to kill those spirits. He approached Augustine and examined the area around him, obviously taking in all the dead bodies of spirits that littered the small street, many of them had been cut to pieces by his twin blades.

"Wow, you can sure make a mess" said the man in the conical hat with a smile "Names Shunsui Kyoraku"

Augustine just stared at him unblinkingly as he stopped a few feet from him, he examined the warrior before him, he was fast, very fast, he could only perceive him as a blur, and with his training and keen sense that mean that his speed would be almost in-perceivable to everyone else.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" said Kyoraku, no response was receive and he sighed to himself, why did he have to get another guy that doesn't like to talk.

"Listen, I really don't want to fight, so how about we both go back to my place and we talk this over a nice bottle of Saki?" asked Kyorake, his only response was for the stranger to raise both his weapons and get into a fighting stance, he sighed once more, looks like he was going to have to drag him back.

Kyoraku charged towards Augustine, and the Gilnean did the same, swords drawn back and ready to strike, they closed in quickly and Augustine reversed the grip on his left cutlass and slashed it at the unknown man left hand side, hoping to catch him on guard while his blade is in his right hand. Kyoraku blocked the strike by placing his sword over his chest and letting the two blade grind against one another.

As Augustine passed the shinigami captain's left side, Kyoraku countered, he swung his sword at the exposed man's back, but Augustine was more than aware of it, he ducked under the swing and twisted around and slashed at the captain. Kyoraku leaped away from the swing and stood a few feet from him, Augustine straightened up and took another stance, his face betraying no emotion other than a silent determination that he would win this fight.

* * *

Mojin looked across the city, he could see that his allies were engaging in fight against these spirits, where the hell did they all come from? It was like they were all waiting for them in one spot and then just came out of nowhere. He gritted his teeth at the thought that this may be a trap; he needed to get everyone together, if they were being targeted then he needed to regroup and defend against a possible assault, he did trust that they could handle themselves, but even the biggest and strongest wall can be brought down by smaller stones.

He could sense them all across the town, all fighting against the corrupted, he moved to his stone and would contact them, but if they were in a fight they wouldn't be able to answer back or be summoned, but at least they would get the message. As his hand reached into his pocket he heard something behind him, turning around he saw a young orange haired man in loose robes standing behind him, he had a large cleaver on his back and was looking at Mojin in shock.

"What the hell?" he blurted out, obviously shocked by his appearance, Mojin looked at the boy critically; obviously he was part of that lopsided man's group who were likely tailing them. This was bad, if they sent someone to check on him, then the others could expect to be in the midst of these people as well, he wouldn't need to get to them quickly.

"Hey" the orange hair youth called out to him "Who are you?"

Mojin didn't respond to the boys query, he simply turned away from him and began to walk off, he didn't have time to talk with him and he wanted to avoid conflict as much as possible, and fighting a child didn't seem like something he should waste his time with.

"Hey I'm talking to you!" shouted the youth, but Mojin didn't stop, he continued walking towards the edge of the building "Stop! I said Stop!"

He heard the boy draw his sword but he still continued to move forward, the only thing that changed was the fact that he tensed up slightly and was waiting for the boy to make a move before he made his own. As much as hurting the kid didn't sit right with him, if the boy attacked then he had to defend himself, he had too much at stake to risk being captured by an unknown enemy, and even more so if they are part of the Legion.

Just as he neared the edge another whooshing sound was heard, this time in front of him, appearing out of thin air were two people, and the first was a tall pale skinned, long white haired man with similar black robes as to the boy and a white cloak over his shoulders. The second was a young petite girl with short raven-black hair in black robes; she was quite short and appeared to be only entering adolescence, he stopped examine them, both has sword strapped to their waists.

Both were slightly surprised by his appearance, but it only lasted a second before they both reached for their swords, Mojin's eyes narrowed, he didn't have time for this, two kids and a sickly man, he would have thought they would send someone who would be a potential threat, he was wrong.

"Move." Said the troll shaman, his accent catching them off guard.

"I cannot do that, you will surrender and come with me; you have no alternative." Said the white haired man, Mojin looked at him with a bored expression before he sighed and drew his axes from his hips.

"I am sorry, but I can't let yah take me, my men are in danger and I won't leave dem to die." Said Mojin

"They will also be brought with us, they will not be harmed; we only wish to speak with you." Said Ukitake, trying to do this peacefully.

"You an' I know that ain't true." Said Mojin, raising his axes and readied to sink them into his enemy's chests, he didn't like this but he would defend himself if they attacked, this proved right when he heard the boy behind him charge forward. Blade at the ready and intent to cut him down, Mojin pivoted around and as the blade moved to cut into his back he swung Bwa'ran at the sword, the force knocked the young one off balance and Mojin retaliated with a simple swipe of his leg. The boy lifted his leg out of the way and backed up, Mojin didn't want to kill them, disable and then move on, killing would take to long for this lot, and he just needed to make sure they couldn't keep up with him when he made a break for it.

* * *

Draga ducked under the swing of one of the corrupted spirits, its large claws large enough to tear her in two with a single swipe, she raised her axe and raised her shield to the sky, a bolt of lightning struck her shield and she channeled the current through her body and then through her axe. A bolt of lightning shot out from her axe and towards the spirit and ripped through its chest and face, its body fell to the ground in a heap and covered in scorch marks and twitching occasionally. She leaped away as a massive fist fell toward her, the ground where she stood shattered and sunk several inches from the force that was carried with the attack, she looked up to see a similarly large corrupted spirit leering down at her.

She gritted her teeth as she pulled back her shield and focused her elemental energy into the elementium alloyed shield before trusting it towards the spirit; the shield detached itself from her arm and spun towards the hollow. Its head was cut in half and top most part fell to the ground before its body followed suite, but as it died more were coming, many more of varying size and power. She caught her shield and placed it back on her arm and readied herself, she called forth the spirits for aid and around her appeared seven ethereal wolves, ready to aid her against these corrupted creatures.

High above her, on a nearby building that overlooked the large plaza was a man in all white and had a small bone-like fragment that covered the left side of his face; he was looking down at the fight below with a smile. It was a very interesting bout, he had not seen one such as this is a long time, and never with a mortal being such as her, but she was different from normal people, aside from her skin tone and appearance she was odd, almost like she was more powerful than she was letting on.

"I wonder what makes her so different from the others" he said to himself

* * *

**Well there you have it, Chapter 07 hope you enjoyed it, also if you are a fan of Transcendence please tune it I will be posting it tomorrow around the same time. Read, Review and give me what you think. and same time next week. Jimmy out**


	9. Act 1, Chapter 08: Battle Royale

**Hello everyone, here is the next chapter of United against the Legion of Flames.**

**I haven't posted this chapter along with the previous two in a long while, after all they were backlogged before they were finally completed and back then I had a different writing style to what I have now. And compared to my two Bleach and Warcraft Crossovers, Transcendence is much more believable than this one, this is just rough work by me, which is sad, I have great expectations for this story and I want to make it shine.**

**Arrankor: I hope that this chapter is to your liking, I tried to accommodate for the drastic level in power difference and make sure that there is some level of balance between the people who are fighting. I try my best, and I hope to make it to my reader expectations.**

**Leapinglemur: I'm glad you like this, this chapter may be the last in the next few weeks, I am doing a small rewrite on the future chapters to make them more accommodating, I have learnt from my writing with Transcendence on how things can be balanced better. This story is really not the best example balancing two worlds together.**

**The True Shinigami: Calm yourself Death God. I am not a person who takes sides, I weigh up the options and levels and make a just and accurate call, I am not biased and try not to let personal preference determine who is better and who is not.**

**Ultima-owner: I don't know… lots of adrenaline and pent up anger, like all other anime characters that have big blades. :P**

**99 Luffy: I can understand where you are coming from, with Transcendence I have a better scope on how powerful some people are now, and because of that there will be some rewrites in future chapters.**

**Alright that's a wrap, now read, review and I will pray it is to your expectations.**

* * *

**United Against the Legion of Flames**

**Chapter 08: Battle Royale Part 1**

The skies above Kararura town were stirring, the clouds were circling high the moon was blacked out and offered it no radiance, the clouds crackled with electricity and light, the winds although wild and raging were all focused into a singular region. In a small plaza in the middle of the town where none would be during such a storm or at such a time at night, bushes were being batted at and stones and dirt was being uplifted from the ground as if they were but feathers in the wind, this was where it drew its power. At the eyes of this storm it was more chaotic that one would think it to be, on the ground were five people, one standing dead center in the middle of the eye of the hurricane and four other watching in awe as that person seemed to command nature itself.

"I wish no harm to you people, but you have force my hand." called Elyssire as she shot her hand forward and send a massive gust of wind towards the four warriors, who quickly dispersed to avoid the attack that would have thrown them out of the plaza like a tornado would a tree.

Elyssire took note of the warriors before her, she knew that the eldest would be the biggest threat among the lot of them and would need to be dealt with personally, while the other ones would have to be dealt with by her allies. She raised her hand that was now shrouded in a bright ethereal green glow; she waved it at the two younger women, and beneath Orihime and Isane feet erupted large green vines that quickly wrapped around their legs to prevent escape. From their it worked its way up their torso and then their arms, wrapping around their limbs and then around their necks to completely immobilize them, their arms stretched out to their side as to prevent them from pulling out any hidden weapon to try and free themselves.

She ducked under a bolt of pure energy that was shot towards her right side, her keen sense picking up the attack before it connected, she turned to see the only male of the group aiming an completely energy based bow at her. Elyssire cocked an eyebrow; he had interesting control to be able to summons a bow of energy and also shoot out bolts, Elyssire straightened up and raised her staff, she didn't have time to deal with him and she couldn't allow him to remain there while he had a ranged weapon trained on her. She raised her staff that suddenly began to glow with blue energy; she began to whisper into the wind, beseeching the world around her, calling onto the spirits of nature, calling for aid in vanquishing her enemies.

As her called reached its end so too did her staff meet the ground, with a quick stab into the earth a small wave of energy shot from her staff like a stone in a pond, it travelled over a hundred feet in each direction. They all watched as the attack appeared to do nothing, but then they heard bark cracking, soil being uprooted, Ishida turned to see the tree just behind him started to move and convulse, and from the ground seedling sprouted and quickly grew into small trees. Soon the trees began to twist and turn, branches became arms, bark separated and faces were formed, roots freed themselves from the ground and formed tentacle like legs, and narrowed blue sap eyes stared at the Quincy with aggression. With a strange growl from the walking tree, the trent swung at Uryu, who ducked under the attack and used Hirenkyaku to put some distance between himself and the angry creature, he took aim and fired, blowing off one of its branch-like arms.

As he fired he saw something the corner of his eye, looking up he saw two fists descend towards him, intent on crushing him, another quick use of Hirenkyaku and he avoided the attack, which destroyed the tiled pavement where he once stood. Before he could make another move three attacked him from behind, leaping forward and rolling to recover Uryu twisted around and prepared to fire on them, but when he did, he was nearly crushed under the fists of another trent. He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding being crushed again, and as he recovered he was attacked from behind once more; he leaned forward in his crouch to prevent his head from being bludgeoned and then rose quickly to perform Hirenkyaku, he appeared near the end of the plaza and away from most of the trent.

He was surprised by the fact that they were actually using tactic to subdue him, he wouldn't think that the woman would be able to fight hand to hand against Retsu and then control these things at the same time, and when he decided to try and sense the trent before him and he was right. He didn't know how to explain it, he could feel reiatsu from them, not as in spiritual energy associated with something being controlled or manipulated, but they were giving off their own energy as if they were alive. It didn't make any sense though, they may have their own reiatsu but it was different from that of humans, it was strange, he couldn't even comprehend what he was looking at right now, but everything told him that these things were living creatures.

He looked over to the battle in the distance, he saw the woman firing ball of condensed energy at Retsu, who was dodging then with Shunpo and blocking them with barriers, she could obviously handle her alone. But he couldn't be sure that this one was dangerous enough to warrant their entire arsenal, after all there was no telling what the others were like, she could be just a speck of dust compared to the others out there. He raise his bow and fired at the trents, intend on wiping them out quickly and then freeing Orihime and Isane and then going against that woman together, luckily for him he was able to take them down fairly easily.

Their feet didn't allow them much room for movement and also they couldn't really lean away from an attack or defend against his bows, so all he had to do was keep his distance and fire away, but there was something that disturbed him a little. When he struck them or in some cases wounded them, he could see on their features and in their fluctuating spiritual energy that the wound actually hurt them; he was shocked that these trees could feel pain. He knew that all biological life was alive, plants and trees among them, but the fact that they can feel pain and can be wounded showed that these things were more than they appeared to be, he was almost ashamed of doing this to them. With one final shot he took the head off a trent and watched as its body fell to the ground dead, he looked on to see that Retsu was no longer fighting against the woman but a panther, he had no idea where the woman had just disappeared to.

He put that to the back of his mind for now and moved to free Orihime and Isane from their prison of vines and return back to the fight, he drew his Seele Schneider and activated it, it was the only thing close to a knife that he could use to cut the vines. He cut away at the base of the vines and when they were cut the vines lost their hold of the two and they could move freely, they shook off the rest of the vines and they were free.

"Thanks Uryu-kun." Said Orihime with a beaming smile, to which he nodded and looked over to Isane who was also free, they nod to one another and charge towards the battle between Unohana and the unknown woman.

Elyssire landed a few feet from Unohana, she was still in her panther from and had a light gash along her side, nothing serious but still it hinder her movements, she shifted back into her humanoid form and began to heal it, she felt the nature magic work its way on her wound and seal it. Elyssire looked up to see Unohana frowning down at her, like some mother would frown upon a child who hurt themselves because they did something foolish, that made the druid mentally chuckle at the thought of this woman being older than her.

"You shouldn't have attacked me, you may be strong but you should know that you wouldn't stand a chance against me." Said Retsu, her tone appeared as if she was scolding her, which instead of making Elyssire want to laugh made her narrow her eyes.

"You may be powerful, but power does not mean you are better than I." Said Elyssire, rising slowly to her feet, her wound fully healed and leaving an almost unperceivable scar along her side.

"That may be true, but this makes no difference, you cannot defeat me, let alone four people" said Retsu "Please surrender, you will not be harmed"

"I cannot surrender, it is my duty to perform this task and I cannot allow people to interfere with something they have no understanding in." Elyssire replied, holding her staff tightly and preparing for her next move.

"We are very well informed, and quite enlightened than most of the world, so I am sure if you tell us why you are here, we can come to an understanding." Reasoned Unohana, she was hoping to broker some peace with these people, after all they were quite powerful and high in number, and any more of them could be a dangerous enemy to contend with. Even she was weary of them, after all even the greatest warriors can be brought low by the most unexpected of people, even she knew that there were some things that she knew she couldn't defeat, but that was only one person and he was but a shadow of who he was meant to be.

"You know nothing of our enemy, you know nothing of the evil that lurks beyond the stars" said Elyssire with a cold foreboding tone, which caught Unohana off guard "You don't know what horrors lurk within the darkness."

Retsu Unohana looked at the woman before her confused, what did she mean about the evil beyond the stars, and the horrors that lurk within the darkness? What kind of enemy where they dealing with here. She would likely brush off such warning as nothing, but, the way she spoke of them, the way she said it, showed that as much as she could stand against her and not bat an eye against the difference in power between them, the woman was afraid of what she spoke of.

Without wasting another second speaking to one another, Elyssire attacked, thrusting her hand forward and sending a Starsurge at Unohana, the captain dodged the attack with a quick burst of Shunpo and appeared a few metres from her previous position. But as she landed a bright light appeared above her, looking upward she saw a bright orb of light shoot towards her, she leapt away from the path of the attack and watched as he previous position was engulfed in an explosion of light. As she landed and her visibility of the woman was clouded she was attacked, shooting out of the cloud of dust were three bright golden orbs that moved like arrows towards her, Unohana eyes widened slightly before she raised her zanpokuto to knock them aside.

With three swings she destroyed the magical attack, but as she did she glanced towards her Zanpokuto to see that there was a slight rusting along the flat side and edge of the blade, as if it had been worn away by the elements. But as she examined it she had only a moment to notice another force shot from the cloud and right towards her, looking back she saw a large grizzly bear lunging at her, taking off guard she could only raise her Zanpokuto to block the druid's claws that would have mauled her to piece. As she held it at bay and leaned back to avoid the large jaw from clamping around her throat Retsu could only wonder what this woman really was, to be able to summon powers beyond understanding and also shapeshift into all these different animals was incredible. She had seen Yoruichi do something similar, but at such speeds and diversity of creatures and to maintain ones clothing and weapon was astounding, she wouldn't think it possible, yet before her was the evidence.

What made her think however was what other forces were amongst these people, she could only imagine on what kind of powers the others had compared to this one, she was the weakest considering and yet she was pushing her back. Unohana leaned back further and dropped onto her back and planted one foot on the bear's stomach and then tossed it over her and away, continuing the roll she turned on her shoulders and back onto her feet. Elyssire flew through the air and as she did she shifted one more, her fur shortened, changed colour and became smoother, her muscles contracted and changed into a much sleeker form, and finally she had shifted into a panther. She landed on her paws and slid across the ground, when she stopped she dashed forward to rend the flesh of this shinigami captain, but as she swung her claws it was deflected by a perfectly timed swing of Unohana's zanpokuto.

Elyssire was flung away from the fourth division captain, she spun through the air before landing on her paws and shifting quickly back into her humanoid form, she slid against the stone pavement before coming to a final halt. But even as she did Unohana was already on her, she raised her sword high and swung it down with her left hand, Elyssire raised her arm to shield herself from the attack, Unohana knew that it would do little against her blade and lightened the blow to only take off her limb. But as soon as the swords edge made contact it was halted, Unohana was shocked that her zanpokuto didn't cut through the limb, there was nothing she knew of that could possibly halt the attack, looking at the limb she was shocked by what she saw.

Instead of smooth purple skin, she saw rough brown bark covering her entire arm, she had somehow summoned up the bark of a tree to cover her left arm to take the attack to prevent it from being lopped off. As she stared on in surprise Elyssire attacked, shooting her staff towards Unohana's chest, green energy coiling around the top of the staff, Retsu raised he right palm and caught the attack but was still knocked away by the massive burst of wind that shot forth from the staff. She flew through the air and using her hand as a grapple clawed into the stone ground and allowed herself to correct herself mid-flight and land on her feet, she looked up to see the woman staring at her intently. She was a very skilled opponent, she had no doubts that she could defeat her with time, but the power she possessed surprised her beyond what she expected from these people.

She could see them having strange and unnatural powers, but the fact that this one who matches up to only a third seat could keep up with her was surprising, any other shinigami would easily be beaten and subdued. She didn't want this confrontation to continue however, there runs the risk of causing too much collateral damage and also the risk of someone being injured or killed due to the fighting, and also this woman could be critically injured and die. As much as she wasn't making it easy for Unohana to subdue her, she couldn't outright kill her without finding out more about this person, before she couldn't think further she saw a bolt of light shoot right towards the woman's back.

Elyssire watched the woman ahead of her with some caution, she looked down at her arm, it was bleeding slightly, and she was lucky that her swing wasn't that strong otherwise Elyssire would have lost not only her arm, but have her torso in two pieces at well. She knew that if she got within range of her again she was likely going to be struck down, she would need to keep her distance and use everything she has, Elyssire was hoping that she wouldn't be forced to use it now. After all to release her full strength against them would cause a lot of damage, but because of their strength she would be forced to use it, before she could begin the unification of her spirit animals she sensed something behind her.

Crouching she felt something wiz past her hooded head and quickly she turned to see that the young man in white was aiming that energy bow at her with another bolt of energy on the string, beside him were the two other woman. She watched as they all raised their respective weapons to attack.

"Heilig Pfeil." Said Uryu; his bow began to grow brightly as the reishi began to condense into a singular point to be released as a barrage of arrows.

"Solar Beam." Said Elyssire, above the three of them the clouds opened up and soon a wave of silver light descended towards them, Orihime raised her Santen Kesshun to block it, but as soon as it made contact the barrier shattered and along with it Uryu's bow.

Shocked by the attack they looked up to see the woman staring at them with bright glowing orbs of white, in her hands was a ball of crackling orange energy, she was planning on attacking while they were at their weakest. Isane tried to cast a barrier around them but found every attempt to do so was hindered by some unseen force, she could only watch as the woman pulled back her hand to throw the spell at them. But before she could around the woman appeared six thin beams of light, which slammed into her midriff and immobilized her on the spot, she lost control of the spell and it dispersed in her hands and the light around the three quickly was concealed by the clouds.

Elyssire looked down at the strange bindings that held her in place, she could barely move at all and she couldn't even concentrate clearly, the force that was being pressed on her body was very great and she was struggling to remain standing. She tried to remove it but her attempts were futile, she couldn't concentrate enough to summon the Solar Beam or any other negating magic she knew to dispel this binding, as she tried though she saw that woman she had been fighting walk up from beside her and stand directly in front of Elyssire.

"Now that you are restrained we can take you back to soul society without incident" said Restu Unohana, she glanced over to the others and saw them standing there a little relieved that they were not about to be attacked "Are you all alright?"

"Yes, luckily you were able to immobilise her before she could attack." Said Uryu; adjusting his glasses and moving forward.

"It was good I did so, any longer and you may have been fatally wounded" said Unohana, turning back to Elyssire and continuing "I hope that your comrades do not cause as much trouble as you did, there is no need for such senseless bloodshed."

"Then why is it that you continue to hinder me in my mission?" said a scathing Elyssire, her anger very evident as she practically hissed it through her teeth "If we fail here, this world will run red with the blood of mankind and every single patch of earth will burn."

"Whatever you are looking for you can tell us when we return to Soul Society, for now, I think it is best you sleep." Said Restu; as she moved closer to knock her unconscious in order to prevent her from causing any more harm.

"I will sleep when you no longer bar my path and the demons are cast back into the Twisted Nether!" she roared as a massive burst of energy escaped from her, Unohana was forced to leap away as a sphere of blue light formed around the druid and crackled with energy and the winds picked up at an astounding rate. Soon the entire plaza was engulfed in a mini-tornado which threatened to scoop them up and toss them across the city, but what lay beyond their sight and within the orb was much more different. A change was occurring within and Elyssire was beginning to change, she was shifting into a new form, one that was not one spirit of nature but many. She was calling upon all her animal spirits to battle and soon she would lay waist to these enemies like a hurricane does to the land in its path, she would become an Alpha Primordial.

* * *

Shunsui leaned to the right as the sabre that cut towards his neck; the blade passing only inches from cutting into his flesh, his attacker twisted with the attack and swung his second sabre at the shinigami captain's chest, but was blocked by his tachi. Augustine was standing with his right side facing Kyoraku and had his sword flat against the captain's blade, Augustine's cold blue eyes never leaving the grey eyes of Kyoraku. Kyoraku then swung his wakizashi at Augustine's exposed side, seeing this attack coming he quickly blocked it, he twisted his body to face the captain and aimed his left sabre towards the pavement before pushing it under his right arm and blocked the short blade from cutting into his waist.

Augustine then followed up by sliding his sabre along Shunsui's tachi and then off, forcing him to step back or suffer a fatal wound to his neck, which allowed him to then knock the small sword away from his left sabre before swinging his right back at Kyoraku. The shinigami captain raised his wakizashi to block the attack and he did so, but when he saw that the cloaked man stab his sword right towards his heart he was forced to desperately try and knock it off course. He brought his tachi up and slammed it into the side of the sabre and pushed it down towards the ground; he then laid his sword flat against the side of the sabre's blade and then swung it up towards the man's unprotected neck. He had him, he wouldn't kill him but force him into surrendering or having his throat cut, but before he could even make it past his elbow his blade collided with another. Looking he could see that the blade he was holding off with his wakizashi was now stopping his tachi from severing his head, the thoughts were running through Kyoraku's head at a million miles an hour.

'How could he quickly change the position of his blade and also move it off another to block a second strike' he thought, he was a master swordsman and he had never met anyone in his entire life that could pull off a trick like that, this guy was a master of the sword, and that wasn't just about swinging fast and hitting hard, this guy knew every trick in the book when it came to using a blade. This just proved that he could fight his way out of almost any situation he was in, he didn't look worried or even anxious, he was completely calm and collected, it was like the attack just now was just a simple swing meant to kill him and he blocked it.

Before he could think any more on the subject he noticed a small glimmer in the man's eyes showing he was planning to attack, he twisted his right sabre up and knocked his tachi up and over his head and then with his left sabre swung at the back of his leg to sever it from the rest of Kyoraku's body. But still Kyoraku was a master swordsman, as his tachi was swung over the man he swung it back down to intercept the sabre aiming to sever his limb, both blades rung as they collided with one another. But this was only one of two attacks carried out by Augustine, the first was to hinder his escape from the second, when he swung the shinigami's tachi up over his head with his right sabre he pulled it back and placed it into a reverse grip to stab through Kyoraku's chest. But with a quick parry with his wakizashi the killing blow was averted, but when it was parried away Augustine swung it right back and grinded his other sabre against his tachi forcing Shunsui to raise it up and prevent the blade from taking piece out of him.

As Augustines blades slid free from Shunsui he attacked again, swinging both blade at the shinigami captain, the first blade smashed into Kyoraku's tachi and knocked him slightly off balance, and then the second strike forced him to step back or be knocked onto his back. Two more slashes followed and were parried by both his blades, they held one another at a stalemate before they threw their swords off one another and backed up, and standing fifteen feet from one another they gauged each other's reactions. Captain Kyoraku carried an air of calm around him and his stances was relaxed but still prepared for any attack that could come, while Augustine was still rigid and ready to fight, he had a calm but stern expression on his face as he stared at the shinigami captain.

"I have to admit your pretty good, never seen someone use a sword like that" said Kyoraku, in a friendly and carefree manner that he was known for "Where did you learn to fight like that? I mean I'm a bit of a slouch but I can say that I'm a good swordsman, but you, your something else."

There was no response from Augustine who simply went into a fighting stance, he turned his right side towards Kyoraku and aimed the right sabre at him and then placed the other over his chest and waited for the soul reaper to attack.

"Come on, just because were fighting doesn't mean we can have a friendly chat" said Kyoraku with a fun-loving smile on his face, but when he saw that it got no discernible reaction from the man he sighed and readied his blades and murmured to himself "This guy is worse than the other one."

Kyoraku shot forward and had his blade by his side and held nimbly in his wrists, he had an idea what the stance was meant to do when you attacked, and he would play into that and then strike, give him a little kick to get him talking a bit. Kyoraku drew close and swung his swords at him in a lazy manner, his tachi in his right hand was easily knocked away by the extended blade with a simple flick of the wrist as was his wakizashi by a follow up swing. With his extended blade he would deflect any attack sent at him before following up with a counter, as he swung his sabre to deflect the wakizashi he twisted around and shot his second sabre to pierce Kyoraku's heart. Which was expected, the first sabre was to leave him vulnerable and then the second would shoot in to kill him, but he was no fool, with great speed he reversed the grip on his short sword and deflected the sabre off course.

"You nearly had me there." He said in a whisper, though the words appeared serious he carried the same cheerful tone he always did.

Now both of Augustine's sabres were spread wide at his sides, the first being away from his defense from the swing to deflect Shunsui wakizashi and the other by being deflected by the same small blade, leaving him open to attack. Kyoraku didn't want to risk killing him by slashing open his chest, so he did the next best thing, he was going to kick him in the gut and then watch him grovel on the floor, he twisted with his attack that deflected the sabre and turned on one foot and raised the other. As he did a full rotation he shot his foot towards Augustine's exposed stomach, Augustine had but a fraction of a second to prepare for the attack, being a human he would break some bones when he was struck, but he wasn't human and he wouldn't be struck.

In a feat that was not humanly possible, he leap off the ground, he jumped over the kick that would have sent him sailing through the air and down the street, by using his feet to kick him up, something that surprised the veteran captain beneath him. He twisted through the air and vaulted over Shunsui and landed in a crouch on the ground with his turned to Kyoraku who was staring at him shocked. He couldn't explain how he did that, he didn't crouch or try and build up into it, he simply did it without so much as a second to prepare, it was only when Augustine landed that he composed himself to try and attack.

"How the hell did you do that?" asked Kyoraku, actual surprise lacing his voice as he asks the question he really wanted him to answer, but first he swung his tachi at the mysterious man.

Augustine brought his left sword overhead and blocked his right side, when the Zanpokuto connected with his sabre he guided along his blade and quickly over him and allowed it to continue on its course on his opposite side. During that perfect deflection he didn't actually force the blade to slow or lose any of its momentum and it carried to captain with the swing and left him vulnerable, which Augustine took advantage of when he rose to his feet and twisted around to face him. He slashed with his right sabre, Kyoraku brought up his wakizashi over his right arm and was able to block the strike, but when the second came he had to raise his tachi to bend over his left arm and then use it to protect his back from being hit.

The struggle to hold him there lasted only a few seconds, he quickly ducked forward and swung the sabres off his blade, as Kyoraku was crouched he swung his tachi up at Augustine, which quickly with his left sabre deflected it away and then swung his other at the rising captain. Kyoraku blocked the strike with his wakizashi, he then counter with his tachi, but it was blocked by his sword at parallel to the arm that held it, he then spun his sword up and Kyoraku's tachi with it. The spin kept the captain's sword on the sabre and then he slammed it down on top of his own and kept it in a vice between his two blades, it was then that Augustine attacked again.

But instead of using his sword he vaulted over the weapon sandwich and attempted to kick Kyoraku in face as he did so, who leaned back to avoid the boot from connecting with his cheek, and as Augustine landed he ripped his sword away from the tachi. Shunsui looked at the man once more and was impressed, this man was an incredible example of swordsmanship, he had it all, speed, agility, perfect tactical awareness, skill that made him as good as him, the only he would need now was a heirro and he would be a captain.

"You know if I wasn't forced to bringing you in, I would recommend you join us, with your skill you could make a Captain or at least an officer." Said Kyoraku, he swung his tachi at him in a wide arc, aiming for his neck.

Augustine blocked the strike with his right sabre, he then deflected it over his head and then pushed it downwards when he spun his sabre from underneath the sword and on top of it, then he countered with a simple swing at the captain's should. They had been fighting for the last fifteen minutes, over a thousand separate swings from a blade had been performed, many had been dodged, blocked and parried, but it was only now that a single shred of blood had been spilled. Kyoraku leapt away from his attack and looked at his arm, the wound was a clean cut and slightly deep, likely it didn't go too far otherwise he would have lost use of the arm, he smiled to himself, this guy was good, this man would probably be the best human swordsman in the world without a doubt.

"If you cannot fight and speak at the same time" said Augustine, the first time he had uttered anything aside from the occasional grunt as he blocked a particularly strong strike from Kyoraku "Then it is recommended that you do not, for those who do not speak have more skill than you"

Kyoraku looked at the man for a moment and was a little surprised by him, his voice carried little to no emotion, he spoke professionally about how he shouldn't speak when he fights, but the only thing running through his mind is that he actually talked.

"Well what do you know." said Kyoraku, cheerful as ever even with the wound on his arm "You can talk."

Augustine didn't speak again but instead charged forward; both swords by his side and waiting to be placed in the appropriate position to counter and attack or parry the shingami captain may be planning, soon both their swords clashed against one another and the struggle began once more.

"You really aren't much of a conversationalist are you?" asked Kyoraku, the question was only responded to by Augustine reversing his grip on his left sabre and then twisting it in the struggle between blades so that it was aiming right for Shunsui's neck and then stabbing it forward.

Kyoraku negated the attack by throwing his sword to the side, dislodging the four blades from one another and preventing himself from having his throat cut open, and before he could try and counter the man continued his attack. He swung his right sabre at Kyoraku's chest which was amply dodged, and then he swung his other sabre, still in the reverse grip it slides along Kyoraku's tachi which is the only thing between the sabre and his neck. But as soon as the blade slid free from his own it came back, Augustine had twisted it back into a standard grip and swung it back at him, the blade grinded against the spiritually forged steel and sparks flew between the two edges. Soon Kyoraku was forced onto the defensive, the man was a beast who relentlessly attacked, never leaving the enemy a chance to attack and even if he did there wasn't even an opening to exploit that could wound him, even just to spite him.

This carried on for the next ten minutes, the blades clashed several hundred times between those minutes and now, but soon Kyoraku began to get into the rhythm of the fight, although his enemy didn't rely on any specific pattern to fight he could understand that each attack aimed for the most likely place to be wound the target. Soon it became anyone's game of who could be the victor, every strike was parried and after every parry there was a counter and after every counter there was a parry and then another counter, a continuous cycle of attrition to see who would be struck first.

"You know this is the first time I fought someone so close to me in swordsmanship before." Said Kyoraku, this was true, he had fought again Ukitake and old man Yama many time, but this man was something else. With Ukitake it was never this fierce and with old man Yama he would just play with him, but this was something he never thought he would find someone that would sit on a level equal to him.

It was almost euphoric to find an equal, he guess this is why Kenpachi is so ecstatic to find fights some times, to get into a battle with someone who could bring out this feeling, to have two people fighting one another with all their skill to beat one another and going on forever. Although he wouldn't admit it out loud that the crazy bastard had a point this was a damn good feeling, he didn't know whether to laugh at the fact he sounded like Kenpachi or this feeling he was having for just fighting this one guy right here.

Then it stopped the sound of flesh being cut and the metallic scent of blood being sprayed into the air, both combatants leapt away from one another, panting at the massive excursion both had put out to deal with each other. Kyoraku looked himself over to see if he had been cut again and was surprised he hadn't, looking up he could see that he couldn't say the same for the other guy, his right shoulder was bleeding and creating a red stain over his nice vest. Shaking off the thrill of the fight he had he composed himself, didn't want to appear like a madman, he shudder to think about looking like Kenpachi, a twisted grin on his face, madness in his only showing eye and an eye patch. He prayed that he never got an eye patch then the next thing he knew he would start acting like a homicidal maniac looking for fights everywhere; he really hoped it didn't come to that.

"Well it seems that those who do not talk seem to be not as skilled as those that do." Said Shunsui; throwing back the same words in a slightly different context back at Augustine, who didn't bat an eye at the captain and simply stared at him.

Before either of them could continue the sound of thunder overhead was heard and also a great light show off in the distance, Augustine looked over and he could feel the primal energies of nature being shaped and controlled. Elyssire was fighting someone powerful, otherwise she wouldn't have relied on using so much power to fight them, he would need to finish this man off quickly and join her, he wanted to sigh at the thought of using 'it' against this strange man. Although he loathed to become the animal, this man has shown that if he didn't use it he would likely be forced into a long struggle where either of them could be killed and he didn't want to risk everyone else's life because of his reluctance to use that form.

Kyoraku whistled at the display of power off in the distance, he extended his senses and picked up five people in the distance, one was Captain Unohana, her lieutenant Isane and Orihime Inoue and Uryu Ishida. Whoever they were fighting was really giving off some energy, although he couldn't really gauge its level, he could tell it was strong, very strong, maybe he should release and finish this quickly to get over the and see what was going on.

"Alright my silent friend, I'm gonna give you one last chance to surrender peacefully or I will be forced to strike you down and all that jazz." Said Kyoraku, he looked on to see the man stand there for a moment before he did something unexpected.

He slammed his sword into the ground right in front of him, when he did that Kyoraku thought he was giving up but all he was doing was putting them aside so he could relieve himself of some baggage, he removed his hat allowing his shaggy black hair to fall free over his face. He then removed his trench cloak and revealed a black buttoned up shirt with a grey vest with empty pistol holster over his torso and similar dark grey pants; he looked over toward the man and closed his eyes.

For a moment Kyoraku didn't know what he was doing, he looked like he was surrendering, but there had to be more to this than something so simple, these guys weren't ones to just give up, they went down swinging. Before he could ask the man's eyes shot open, what surprised Kyoraku was that his eyes had changed, gone were the bright ocean blue eyes and now in their place were golden red orbs of a predator, he could see the animalistic anger and savagery inside those orbs of his. Then his body began to shake and spasm, he remained on his feet and he hunched forward as if he was going through some sort of change, then his arm shot up and quickly the muscles shifted and his fingernails grew and sharpened themselves.

Kyoraku looked on in shock as the man miraculously and by appearances painfully shifted into something else, his arm started to grow fur rapidly and then his other arm shot up and repeated the process as the other one. He stared at the shingami captain, his teeth sharpening and his canines becoming more pronounced, his nose and face soon started to morph and a snout began to appear, his legs snapped and reshaped themselves into hind legs. Dark fur grew across his face and the rest of his body, Kyoraku could only watch in muted shock as the man before him turned into something not human, something he had never seen before, and then when it was all over a loud roar erupted from the man and echoed across the night.

* * *

Ichigo leaned away from the decapitating swing of the strange creatures axe, he was surprised by this things speed, even though it looks scrawny and appeared to be nothing but skin and bones it was fast and deceptively strong. He saw Rukia try and strike from behind but quickly he turned sideways and raised one axe, effortlessly blocking the strike he retaliated by kicking the thirteenth division lieutenant in the stomach and away. Ichigo gritted his teeth in anger and attacked, swinging Zangetsu as the back of the unknown creature's neck, but before it could make contact the blue furred man repelled the attack, with the same axe he blocked Rukia's Zanpokuto he slammed into Zangetsu.

But that was the end of the attack and only the start of the counter on the troll's part, he latched his second axe around Zangetsu and pulled it over his head and onto the opposite side it came at him from, then he kicked in Ichigo's leg forcing him to his knee. Then with the same axe he used to pull Zangetsu over him he swung at Ichigo's neck, wondering about how he was able to pull of such a manouver he had only a second to lean back and avoid having his head cut off. When his attacked failed he tried to kick him in the head, but Ichigo was able to raise his left hand over his chest to cover his head, but as soon as caught it he was then booted in the head by the second two toed foot.

He was knocked away from the troll, who was forced away from Ichigo as well easily flipped back onto his feet and then turned quickly to fend off Jushiro Ukitake, blocking both his blades with either of his axes. They stared at one another for a moment before they separated from one another, landing a few feet from each other, both had their weapons at their sides and waiting for the chance to strike, but before either could make a move Ichigo and Rukia charged in. Mojin narrowed his eyes at the two attackers, both were skilled he knew that, and even though one had a very large weapon he was very quick with it, but he could still take him but not without the aid of the elements. But still he needed to get out of here quick to get to his comrades and then escape before any more of these people turn up, he could take these two out for the moment and then try and finish off that one over there.

"Windfury" said Mojin, then in an instant he was surrounded by a small tornado, and his axes were the focal points to this small windstorm, both Ichigo and Rukia's eyes widened at the display of power.

Quickly they struck out and tried to attack, hoping to interrupt whatever sort of ability he was planning on using, but sadly for them their attack would only trigger his strike and leave them groveling with their own wounds. Ichigo and Rukia struck as a single cohesive unit, both swinging at either side of the Shaman, but as the blades moved closer the Shaman made his move, and with speed that defied anything they could believe he had struck out four times in a single moment. The first went towards Ichigo, as Ichigo swung down at him Mojin swung his left axe up and knocked the blade back up and above the substitute's head, which left him open, but he didn't attack immediately, Mojin turned his attention to Rukia.

She swung her blade wide, hoping to cut him in half, but a single swipe of his right axe and her sword was forced away and she stumbled after it, he then attacked, the first slash went for Ichigo, a need wound cut its way across his chest, blood flew from the new wound and he stumbled back shocked. But at the almost exact same time Mojin struck out at the young woman's back, using his right axe he cut into her lower back up to her left shoulder, she stumbled forward and fell towards the ground. In the span of nearly two seconds he carried out four attacks and struck down two opponents, and then his gaze fell upon the white haired man who was looking on in shock that his two fellow warriors had been dispatched so quickly.

Mojin wasted only a moment after dispatching the two young ones before charging forward, both axes were released a strong gust of wind, he then swung at the white haired captain and when he dodged a small gust of wind knocked him off balance. Mojin followed up with another swing that actually met steel, but the force behind it made Jishiro nearly fall over as the wind that accompanies the axe slammed into him. Ukitake was shocked that the man could command the winds to such intensity; he didn't think that those axes of his could do such a thing, could they actually be Zanpokuto, or where they these strange beings that could control the elements Shunsui warned him about.

Their duel continued as Ichigo and Rukia tried to get back onto their feet, they were lucky that the wound they suffered were only meant to debilitate them rather than kill, and they were doing very well in the debilitating part. Ichigo couldn't move his arms without his chest flaring and Rukia could barely stand without feeling as if her spine was about to fall out her back.

"Hey Rukia, you alright?" Asked Ichigo, as he used Zangetsu as a crutch to lift himself up, his other hand on his chest trying to numb the pain as it moved through his torso.

"Not really, my back is killing me." She said through gritted teeth, she decided to stay on her knees and try to heal her wounds with some healing Kido before trying to get back into the fight.

They both turned when they felt a strong gust of wind and saw the Ukitake was fighting against that unknown thing, they were really going at it and trying to kill one another, none were pulling their punches and the sound of wind tearing across the roof and steel clashing could be heard for miles. This entire rooftop had become a battleground, Rukia couldn't believe that someone could match up to her captain who was using his Shikai, there was only Shunsui who could really do that and actually get the drop on him, but someone else was shocking to see.

"Damn it, Ichigo go and help him!" shouted Rukia, as she continued to try and heal the wound on her back, the main problem was where it was and she couldn't reach for it without feeling like her skin rip even more.

Ichigo nodded and charged to face the man that was putting Joshiro on his toes, he had to admit this guy was a force to be reckoned with, he was able to stand up against him and nearly kill him on two occasions, but he didn't actually kill him, more like disable. Mojin glanced out of the corner of his eye to see the orange haired man coming for him, he growled under his breath and retaliated, he threw the white haired man away and then released a massive gust of wind towards him. Ukitake was knocked off his feet and then off the roof, but before Mojin followed after him he turned toward Ichigo and lashed at him with his axe, but it wasn't a melee attack, but a call.

"Lava Lash" Mojin said and his axe was wreathed with fire before it was thrown at the substitute, soon the area in front of Ichigo was engulfed in scorching hot flames and the ground was like molten lava.

Ichigo leapt away as the intense flames drew closer to him; he was shocked that this guy could control both the wind and fire at the same time, he had seen Zanpokuto that could control an element but nothing like this; maybe both axes had a different affinity. Mojin glanced over to see the boy was trapped behind the wall of flames and wouldn't follow too quickly after him; he ran over to the side of the building and leapt off, looking down he saw the white haired man land without any difficulty and then looked up. Shock was written over his face when he saw Mojin falling towards him with both axes raised over his head; Ukitake raised his Zanpokuto to block the strike and was shocked that when the two edges of the axes met his swords he felt his knees start to buckle.

It felt as if the man above him weighted a ton, but he knew that the weight was just the force that had struck him, he was completely surprised that this man could fight him on such a level, Hitsuguya said that the assassin he fought couldn't match up to his shikai. Yet this one was completely different, he could easily match up to his shikai and maybe even be better, how could he be so powerful, he was one of the strongest in soul society and yet this one person was able to match up to him and possibly surpass him. If there were others stronger than this one, then it was likely they could be up against a force that would in all likelihood be able to destroy soul society, with all his strength he threw the blue furred troll off of him and away.

As Mojin landed he rushed forward, ready to cut the white haired captain apart with his two axes, he may be someone who protected the innocent and strived to prevent unnecessary deaths, but when push came to shove he had to make the tough calls. He slammed his axe against one of the white haired captains swords, the metal rang out for all to hear within a mile, and then another and soon dozens more could be heard in quick succession of one another. As much as the thought of his comrades being in danger, Mojin's mind was plagued with another thought, that orange haired boy, he was familiar, there was something about him the made bells go off in the troll's head, but it was something he couldn't place.

There was that key feature about him that told him he was missing something, he slashed at the white haired man's neck, he felt that he knew him; Ukitake ducked under the strike and retaliated, or at least knew of him, Mojin parried the blade up and slashed at the white haired captain's chest. But he couldn't put his finger on it, he was missing something important, Ukitake blocked the strike with his second blade and then deflected it aside before striking again, and if it was important then maybe killing him might not be the best solution, Mojin halted the blade and moved to cut off the arm but was halted by another blade.

Mojin stilled his thoughts for the moment and returned his full attention to combat, he needed to get out of this quickly, as he was about to strike he felt his long ears pick up a whistling sound of something moving quickly towards him. Looking up he saw the same boy with orange hair falling towards him and his large cleaver blade at his side, Mojin sidestepped his bisecting attack before leaping away from the slash he sent at him. As he landed he looked the boy over, his wound was not healed in the slightest, he underestimated the boys pain threshold, a wound like that would make fighting difficult, maybe the boy had more promise than he realised. Which also meant he would likely be stuck here for longer than he wanted, he needed to get to his comrades and get out of the combat zone and regroup, if they were fighting opponents as strong as these people, then they could be at risk.

"I will tell you once more, do not interfere with my mission." Said Mojin, lowering his axes in a non-threatening manner to make sure they didn't try and attack him without provocation.

"We cannot allow you to continue without knowing why you are doing this." Said Joshiro Ukitake, lowering his swords as well, he was actually glad he was talking, they could speak a little more civilly now and actually make some progress on learning about who they are and maybe brokering some sort of truce.

"It is simple: this is my duty" said Mojin "To project the balance of this world and the people on it"

"You say that and yet you killed over two hundred people and also done the same to many souls" said Rukia, Ukitake was not happy she interrupted, this was a very delicate conversation, if anything went wrong he could attack and then they would be back to knowing nothing about these people.

"How dare you, I have killed only the corrupted spirits, and they were cleansed with my blades" barked Mojin, a menacing snarl on his lips "I have killed no people coming here, nor have any of my men, we do not seek the death of innocent blood"

"Then what about those people in Africa, we know your people were there." Said Rukia, again Ukitake cursed, this was not how this should be going, he watched confusion go over the trolls face before it was replaced with recollection.

"Ah yes, those people, as I said we do not kill the innocent" said Mojin, and before Rukia could rebuke his claim he continued "The man was a mass murderer and warlord, more people died at his hand and to his militia then the ones we killed."

"We did not do it with an easy conscience, this world's ways are not our own and we respect that, but we could not allow him to interfere with our operations, he needed to be removed before he cause to much trouble." Finished Mojin

"Why are you here?" asked Ichigo. "What is so important about coming here, what are you looking for?"

"That is not your concern." said Mojin, which made Ichigo scowl, if it was in his town and risking everyone inside it then it was his concern "If what we are searching for is found it will be dealt with and then we will depart."

"That's it?" said Ichigo "You do your thing here and then leave? What are you looking for?"

"You have nothing to fear, if they are here they will be removed before they can cause any damage, now let me do my duty and we can all get on with our lives." Said Mojin.

"We cannot let you leave; you still must answer for what you have done and your trespass in our territory." Said Ukitake, he was lucky he got as much out of him as they did, but now they knew that they would return to the fight any moment.

"I do not care about the laws of some group of ghosts who believe themselves all mighty and grand" said Mojin "I speak only with the spirits of my ancestor and the elements."

"I will not speak with a pack of mongrels who have no more respect for this world and its plights than the monsters we are trying to protect you from." with that he charged forward into the ensuing melee.

* * *

Morgana laughed heartily in her cold metallic voice, it sound like steel grinding against steel, and it made the people fighting her wince as it came to their ears, those people were four of the strongest warriors in Soul Society and in the World of the Living. Hiyori lunged at her attempting to cut the unholy creature in the shape of a woman in half, but with speed that was made her large blade appear nothing more than a blur, Morgana twisted around and deflected the marge butcher blade and flung away the temperamental visored.

After her came in Renji, he swung his large whip-like sword at the Death Knight, who only turned to him to see it coming, then with a simple gesture of her hand something shot down onto the Zanpokuto, right between the segments and with cord connecting it together. She had pinned it in place and trapped Renji in a bad place, she charged forward, her sword in both hands and ready to impale him though the heart, she looked like she was on the verge of hysterical laughter. She shot her runeblade forward, as much as she was happy to fight her blade was eager to taste the blood of her enemy, but they were both disappointed when a transparent shield appeared in their way. She glanced to the side to see the other man standing a few feet from her, a hilt the only thing in his hand and around him were pink petals, with a gesture he shot them towards her, she leapt away as the ground where she stood shattered.

She continued her retreat as more of the razor sharp petals followed after her, of all the enemies she was dealing with he was the most troublesome, although she loved a good fight, but this guy was a pain in the ass. He would keep his distance and use magic and that strange sword shape shifting ability of his, unlike the others that were melee oriented this one was meant to overwhelm an opponent and keep them on their toes before he finally got them. Kind of pathetic in her opinion, either he wasn't a good swordsman or he was a better magic, and seeing how he could summon that barrier so quickly she surmised it was the latter.

"You're annoying me" she called over to Byakuya, but he didn't respond instead he continued his assault. She growled as she dodged another assault but saw that her sword arm had been cut, several cuts appeared along her arm, they did bleed but still it was little compared to what a normal living person would suffer if they were cut in such a way.

She landed and watched as the four warrior stood only a few metres ahead of her, each one had a scowl of determination on their face, she would assume the same for the two masked woman, and she knew they were going all at it to take her down. She would continue her little brawl with them but that would take forever and she needed to get out of here, if anyone else showed up she would be pretty much fucked, she needed to kill these guys quick and be on her way. They had seen her and she knew enough that it was enough for them to be able to start searching for her, she would need to use more power to take them down quickly, which meant using all her Blood Rune Magic.

"You know you and me are kind of alike" said Morgana, he comment directed towards Byakuya, he didn't respond but everyone kept themselves on their toes; this woman wasn't one to take lightly. "You like using a lot of sword fighting, so do I"

She held her sword in one hand and then with her other she raised it to the sky, shrouded in blood red energy it slowly created a faint red mist around her, and from that mist objects began to form, the shinigami watched apprehensively as she began casting some sort of spell. Then from the mist formed ten object, long ethereal red blades, each one identical to the rest, all floating around the woman and help up by an unseen force, they looked at the woman that had summoned them.

"My name is Morgana Runecaller" she said, a dark smile on her lips "I have the runic name of 'The Sword Dancer', let me show you why."

Then without even a single warning a blade shot towards Hiyori, eyes black and gold eyes widened at the sword that had been practically been shot at her, the short visored swung her butcher blade at the sword and deflected it off course. But what surprised her was that instead of being tossed aside it simple spun around and moves to cut her again, quickly Hiyori brought her sword up to block and she felt her feet skid along the ground from the force of a blow she didn't think it would have such power. Lisa watched in shock as a blade conjured up from nothing was pushing Hiyori back, she may be blunt but that didn't mean she didn't know how to fight and stay alive, but she was seriously being outclassed by an un-wielded sword.

Lisa turned her attention towards the woman, who was staring at them with a smirk on her face and an aura of blood and death surrounding her, Lisa scowled and charged forward, she needed to take her down or Hiyori would likely be severely injured. Lisa had her zanpokuto at her side ready to impale the woman, she saw this and her smirk turned into a full blown smile, she sent two blades to intercept the visored, Lisa leapt over the first and leapt towards the Death Knight. The second one attempted to cut her in twain but quickly Lisa deflected it aside with her massive spear and using the parry she turned mid-air and attempted to use the momentum to help crush the woman under her next strike.

Lisa's Zanpokuto descended towards Morgana's head, ready to cut her in half, but quickly the death knight raised her rune blade and blocked it, the ground beneath her feet cracking from the massive amount of force that was behind the blade. Lisa was shocked that she was able to stop her attack, so quickly and without having to use more than one arm, with a flick of her wrist Morgana threw Lisa off her blade and back into the air, and left her to the mercy of the four blades that were around her.

Lisa twisted around and deflected a blade meant for her back, but the blade twisted and spun at her, and around her she saw the others coming in, she grimaced, it looked like she was going to be skewered, but before they could reach her they were cast aside by a long whip-like blade. She looked through the narrow slits in her hollow mask to see Renji with his blade up and extended around her, she shunpo'ed away from the spot and landed right next to him, looking over they saw the blade return to their position around Morgana. Hiyori was still sparring with the same ethereal blade, but her clothes were starting to get a little torn up and also blood was starting to dye it a deeper shade of red and her mask has several cut along it showing that the blade was getting the better of her.

"I'm impressed the kid could survive" said Morgana "Usually I frown on killing the young, but I can see that you are more than that, so may I ask, whom do you serve?"

Byakuya stepped forward and around him a swarm of pink petals flowed, he had a completely emotionless expression and didn't even appear too worried about Hiyori who was fighting for dear life a few feet away.

"We serve the Gotei 13 and Soul Society." Said Byakuya

"Gotei 13? Soul Society? Who the fuck are they supposed to be?" said Morgana, actual confusion writing her features, which also surprised them as they thought they were here for them. "So I guess you're just a bunch of people from this world then, well we were given orders not to engage you people, but since you attacked me and are trying to capture me, all bets are off."

With that finally said she motioned her hand and the nine remaining sword aimed towards the three shinigami and then with a thrust of her fist they shot towards them, Renji and Lisa were forced to leap away as each of them were attacked by an ethereal blade. While Byakuya was attacked by the seven others, but even with them attacking form all sides Morgana charged forward, ready to meet the man in Melee.

Byakuya was forced to use his hands to guide his shikai to keep himself from being struck, these blades were strong, able to brush aside several of his pedals before they would be halted by the swarm that was Senbonzakura. He raised his hand up to block two blades attacking from his left, one went to cleave him in twain the other meant to pierce his side, and the latter was able to push itself through the barrier but only by a few inches before it was halted. He then raised a barrier over his head when three blades speared down toward him, their each pierced the barrier, coming only inches from actually making contact with the sixth division captain. He then created a barrier behind him to prevent another blade from slicing into his back, and then shifted more of Senbonzakura to cover his left side he noticed that the woman who was controlling these blades attacked him.

She stabbed her sword towards his heart; with only his hilt he tried to deflect the blade, he was successful and was able to prevent it from piercing his chest but still the blade cut along his arm, when her attacked failed she leapt away. Just in time as the area in front of Byakuya was swarming with the pink petals of his Zanpokuto, when she landed she continued her assault manipulating her blades against the shinigami and trying to get them through his guard. She looked over to see the others were fighting off her blade quite well, the one with the whip-blade was swinging around his large weapon to keep her blade from cutting him in twain and the other woman was twirling her spear around to block the strikes. The smaller girl was actually hammering into her Runic Sword with her butcher blade, trying to break it, she laughed the blades were nigh indestructible, as long as the weapon they were mimicking was intact they couldn't be destroyed unless counter with magic.

She turned back to the black haired man and saw something surprising; he was actually trying to attack her, sending out a small swarm of his petals to carve her apart and likely lesson the strain on him by fighting off so many blades. She sidestepped the attack before charging forward once more, he blade held back and ready to carve apart some flesh, she watched as he continued to struggle against the onslaught of blades, and tried to stop her from charging with the small swarm he sent out, but he was failing. Small gaps were appearing in his defenses; the ethereal swords were starting to get through, inch by inch they drew closer and cut by cut they wore away at his defenses, soon he would be at her mercy.

She ducked under the pink pedals as they tried to cut her head off, she side-stepped another group of razor sharp pedals and continued on, he was wearing down his defenses in a desperate attempt to keep her at bay, but that would only hold her back for so long. She reached him and with an upward swing attempted to carve his stomach and chest open, but he move away from the attack and saved himself, but when she brought down her blade once more he was forced to block it with a quick Danku. The barrier worked, but at great cost, his action had allowed three blades to breach his defenses and strike, one cut into his right leg and forced him to his knee, another pierce his side thought his back and carved through his side, had he not dropped from the first blade he would have been impaled. The final sword had slashed at his back and left a deep wound on the left side of his back, he gritted his teeth and bit back an agonising cry, and in a desperate act to save himself forced Senbonzakura to shoot the petals in an outward explosion.

Morgana was shocked by the tactic and called all her blades back to her, she used them to create a shield to save her from being cut to pieces; she didn't have any difficulty in holding the attack back but still it forced her to remain immobile or be cut to shreds. When the explosion subsided she removed her blade and looked at the man, he saw kneeling a few feet from her, blood coming from three wound on his body and sweet beading his forehead, beside him was the red haired man.

"Captain are you alright?" asked Renji, he looked at the wound his captain had suffered, his side had been torn open and was bleeding badly, the wound on his back was just as bad, it had luckily avoided his spine, and he was literally on his last leg based on how bad his right one looked.

"Yes, do not concern yourself with me, focus on the task at hand." Said Byakuya, his words slightly laced with pain as he tried to stand, he was successful but how long that remained so was still the question.

"Damn, you're a tough bunch." Said Morgana, genuinely surprised that someone could stand after having a leg wound such as that, and also having his side opened up and his back likely hanging open.

"You're going to pay for this." Growled Renji

"Yeah, yeah, you gonna gut me and rip out my soul and all that crap" she said, boredom lacing her echoing words "I've heard it before from you mask wearing friends before I tore them apart"

"Oh don't worry; there won't be a single piece of you left when I'm done with you" barked Renji, raising his zanpokuto high and flaring his reiatsu, Morgana simply stared at him wondering what he was planning. "Bankai!"

In an instant his power increased tenfold, Morgana's only reaction was her eyes widening at the sudden increase in power, she watched as a massive whirlwind appeared around him and shielding him from view. For a few gruelling seconds she watched the tornado rage and churn, within she noticed something moving, something big, soon a large creature appeared from the mist, Morgana's eyes widened at the beast she was looking at. It was a large skeletal snake creature, its body was composed of vertebrae and met up to a skeletal snake head with red fur, and the vertebrae was coiled around and actually attacked to the sword of the man who had summoned it.

"Hihiō Zabimaru." He said, a deep scowl on his features.

Morgana looked up at the creature and from what she could see it was powerful, very powerful, she could also feel like there was another force within the thing she was looking at, she wondered if this was its own entity. She remembered the times when she clashed with these warriors the feeling of something within the blades, almost like there was soul within them, but not the soul of the people she was fighting against, but something else.

"Reminds me of the Wind Serpents back on Azeroth." Morgana said, with a hint of nostalgia in her tone, she looked at the wielder of the weapon and smirked at him.

"Trying to overcompensate for something little man." She laughed, which annoyed him to no end, he was hoping this would make her worried or at least put her on guard.

"You got no idea what you're dealing with here."

"Ha! Unless this thing is as powerful as Hakkar the Soulflayer then I got nothing to worry about!" she retorted back, and with that he attacked, the massive snake charged towards her with its mouth wide open to devour her whole. Morgana struck out with her Rune Blade, a hard wide swing as she knocked the massive snake skull aside, she then charged forward to deal with the man who was controlling it. As she did she met some resistance, both Hiyori and Lisa jumped in to slow her down and allow Renji some time to get his Bankai back up to attack again, Morgana waved her hand at them and sent two dancing rune blade at them.

Lisa and Hiyori were forced to leap away of be skewered, which allowed Morgana to continue on her way, she drew closer to the red haired man and she readied to strike, as she was about to swing she noticed a shadow above her, glancing up she cursed when she saw the giant snakes head ready to devour her. Quickly she resealed her Blood runes and then released her unholy ones, in an instant she felt her strength leave and replaced with a strange nimbleness and swiftness, she glanced up and quickly she sidestepped the attacked. The massive skull collided with the ground, shattering the asphalt and shooting up a large amount of dust, obscuring both Renji and Morgana from view, everyone watched with baited breath as the smoke cleared.

Once the cloud of debris left all that was there was Renji's bankai slammed into the ground, Renji standing there shocked and a completely neutral Morgana, she turned her head towards the flabbergasted shinigami and without saying a word swung her sword at him. He leapt away but was surprised that her speed has somehow increased; he felt the very tip of the blade cut into his chest, he pulled his Bankai away and when he landed he saw that he had a shallow cut along his torso, nothing serious but for some reason it stung.

He looked up to the woman and was surprised when her blade was now glowing a dull green, and her aura somehow changed with it, she wasn't dark anymore, she was more sickly and morbid, it was like everything about her shouted she was contagious. He looked to the ground beneath her and was shocked to see that the road was starting to crack and disintegrate beneath her, almost like it was rapidly aging; a horrible thought went through his mind. What if she had an ability that was similar to the Segunda Espada, what if she could age things to death? He could feel it around her, that aura; it was almost as if it was telling you about your mortality and the slow effects of decay.

"I hate this" Morgana said "I don't like using the Unholy Runes; they are for those who like to make other suffer and wither away right before their eyes."

Renji didn't know what she was talking about, before he could say or do anything he felt his chest ache painfully, he gripped it as he felt his heart start to race and he broke out into a cold sweat, he looked down to see around his wound was a severe infection. He looked on to see it gradually working its way through his body, he felt the pain grow and he felt sick to his stomach, he looked up at the woman who was simply looking at him with a completely emotionless expression on her face.

"Diseases that rot you away from the inside out, that is no way to fight, it is better to fight someone with honour than with diseases and foul magic" she said, and in an instant the aura around her disappeared and her sword took on the same red hue it was before. "I prefer the blood runes, much more my style, sorry about the infection, it's how it goes"

She turned toward Byakuya and moved towards him slowly, as she did the Ethereal Rune Blades began to form around her, a dark smile on her lips.

"So it's just you and me now pretty boy" Morgana said, before she heard a deep growl to her left, she looked to see the two masked woman glaring at her behind their masks "and those two over there, interested in a foursome"

Byakuya didn't respond, instead he held his sword in front of him and then dropped it towards the ground, hilt side up, and when it touched the surface it slowly moved into the ground, she was shocked by this, what was he planning. As soon as the hilt disappeared she noticed that around her the world darken and then from the ground large sword appeared in two row on either side of them, she watched as they rose up into the air, as high as any of tree she once saw. Then they began to glow and then they shattered, and she watched in shocked as the entire world around her turned pink with thousands of cherry blossoms, she looked to see him standing there and with only one word on his lips.

"Bankai"

And there was only one on hers

"Shit" and in and instant she was attacked on all sides by a massive flurry of razor sharp blossoms, she backpedalled as fast as she could and used her swords to try and bat away the tiny blade but even she couldn't stop the many dozens of cuts that were starting to carve her apart. She felt her flesh being torn apart by the blade and with nothing to help her heal herself she was pretty much in deep shit; she landed on a small clearing of the cherry blossoms, which was a mistake. Looking up she could see a very condensed concentration of them, she knew that if she got hit by that she would be torn to pieces, but she couldn't escape, she had only once choice left, she had to use everything she had.

She concentrated and created a massive dome of runic energy around her, the anti-magic zone will prevent the blossoms from getting through until she was ready, she looked up to see them slamming into her shield desperately trying to get inside. She returned her focus to activating her runes, she knew that without a doubt she would need to use not one set of runes but all of them, she would need to activate all her runes to create the Death Runes. She continued her concentration, whispering the command into her blade to fully awaken it and activate her full potential as a Death Knight, not as some blood crazed warrior, not some cold emotionless ice wielder, not some plague bearer, but an actual incarnation of death.

Her eyes snapped open and then all her shield failed and they blossoms charged in to finish her off.

Byakuya watched as the woman was consumed by his Bankai, even though he was ordered to bring her in she was too much of a threat, she couldn't be brought down and without using enough force he knew she would be a liability. He had seen what a simple wound on Renji had caused, he was now on his knees and breathing raggedly and it appeared that he had recently expelled his food from his stomach, and he appeared much more pale than normal and was on the verge of passing out. Lisa appeared to be trying to heal him with what Kido she could, but even so she wasn't have much success that trying to keep the worst of it at bay, he moved to retrieve the woman's body when a massive spike of energy shot up from the condensed form of his Bankai.

He watched as the area around where the woman resided was frozen over and expanded outward, and along with the ground his blossoms were frozen alongside it, frozen in the air in intricate patterns and designs they coiled up into the air frozen in place. Shock passed through him and everyone else as they watched as his Banaki had been trapped within a monument of ice, they had no idea how this could have happened. Then they noticed something stir in the monument and then something emerged, like a bullet it shot out and towards the shinigami captain, and in an instant his shoulder was impaled on a long ethereal black spear.

Byakuya was knocked off his feet and slid across the ground, unable to hold back a cry of pain he looked at the weapon that had pierce through his left shoulder; he looked at the black metal weapon and watched as it faded into nothing. He looked up and saw someone walking out from the pillars of ice and around her was a veil of darkness, her once glowing blue eyes were replaced with orbs of black, her sword now shrouded in a dark mist that was blacker than a moonless night and all he could feel from her was the inevitability of death.

"You've impressed me" she said, her voice carrying a darker edge than the one before, now the echoes that accompanies each word was stronger and darker "Now, let us see who truly is the most powerful here."

* * *

**Soul Society, 1st Division**

The First Division was patrolling the main Barracks, after the reports of an incursion into the realm of the living was reported all the Divisions were put onto high alert to ensure that if the first response did not succeed that they could respond to it immediately. Leading the men was 1st Division Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe, he was speaking with his men at the main gate, and he wanted the entire fighting force of the first division prepared for an immediate assault if they were needed in the world of the living.

"How many men do we have in the main courtyard?"

"Three Hundred sir, they are patrolling the immediate area outside the compound as well" said Eighth Seat Shoki Fukui, Sasakibe nodded before moving off to speak with the Captain Commander.

He moved up the stairs leading to the main building, as he walks up the stairs and thought about the enemy they were dealing with, they were obviously looked for them, as they wouldn't have come all this way to just take in the sights of Japan. Their level of power also worried him; he knew that no one aside from the Captain and maybe some lieutenants in the Gotei 13 could stand up against them, and there were over a hundred of them, and there could be hundreds more. They were outnumbered and out-classed, even against Aizen and his Arrancar they weren't so out-classed, but now there was a force that had the power and likely the numbers to wipe them out without any difficulty.

He reached the top of the stairs and saw the division headquarters in sight, but before he took another step he noticed a blur move past him, he took in the form of a messenger as he moved towards the Captain-Commanders office at the top of the Division building. He knew better to interrupt a message being sent via messenger, the emergency behind it likely more important than him informing the Yamamoto about the current status of his division.

Deciding to tell him of the Divisions status later on Chojiro move back down the stairs, deciding to remain in the courtyard until the messenger depart and then he can speak with the Captain Commander about the status of the division. He wondered if this was concerning the recent activity in the Rukongai area, he had noticed that many twelfth division members leaving for the area and also reports of large scale disappearances, he wondered what may be going on out there.

As he was thinking he noticed a quickly approaching reiatsu signature of three of his men, he halted his descent and looked up from where they were approaching from, and when he did, he notices three shinigami fly past him and collide with the stairs and wall. Sasakibe eyes widen in shock at the sight before him, the beaten bodies of three first division members were behind him, their bodies covering in blood and their spiritual signatures fading into nothing. He rushed down the stairs and towards the courtyard, and when he reached it he saw a horrible sight, around it were the bodies of dozens of shinigami, all beaten and the area completely destroyed.

"How…?" asked Sasakibe, he didn't expect it to be answered.

"So you're the lieutenant of this bunch of weaklings." A loud hoarse voice spoke to his right, looking up he saw a large man hidden under a white cloak, in his hand was a large silver cross that looked like a spear.

"Who are you?" demanded Chojiro, drawing his Zanpokuto from his sheath, ready to battle the intruder that was responsible for the deaths of so many fellow Shingami.

"I am 'The Overkill'" he said before swinging his massive cross at the Lieutenant.

* * *

**I have to say that I think I am starting to understand a bit with what you are saying about the fight, I try to make them fair and not show favour, but I know that the Shinigami are more powerful, but I have seen countless time where even humans can put even a Captain on their toes.**

**They are not infallible, they can be beat, but not often, the people who they are fighting are powerful, not to be underestimated or doubted, they are smart and very skilled warriors. They can hold their own, that I believe, but still even a skilled warrior would find it hard to take on a captain. But these people aren't like the wow character you become while playing, they are like the elites, strong and very skilled and hard to put down.**

**Some of you may not like this but, I try my best, and because of that there may be a slight delay in the next chapter, I will be doing a small rewrite and editing here and there to make this story a little more approachable, I don't like making this one sided. Although I do not think I have gone too far off the path, I will take your opinions into consideration and try to make the story a bit more believable.**

**Regards, Jimmyjamster728**


	10. Rewrite in Progress

Rewrite in Progress.

I am sorry to say that this story is going to be going through a complete rewrite. This came after some time of thinking and considering the options on whether I should remake this story or not, and as such I have decided to do a rewrite.

When I first did this story I had very small information on the Bleach Verse sadly, as I have only started watching the entire show when I first began the story. As such I was ill prepared to weigh up the true potential of the characters and their powers compared to one another, I thought that I could do it with the information I had at the time, but sadly I feel I was wrong.

But with my recent story Transcendence I have learned how to improve upon it, both in the interaction between characters and the story itself and the combat between forces. Because of that I will be doing a rewrite of the whole story and changing key things here and there, I am sorry for the inconvenience but I feel that I have not made this story to the level I intended when I first made it.

Again my apologies, Jimmyjamster728


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